CIHM 
Microfiche 


(lUionographs) 


ICIMH 

Collection  de 

microfiches 

(monographles) 


[Ml 


C.n.di.„  |„.tl,ut.  for  Hl.tprlc.1  Mlcror.p,od«c«««  / cn.dl.«  d.  mler«,.p,oduetkm.  t^ort^ 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


•I 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  avaRable  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  In  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
ehackedbetowi 


m 
□ 
□ 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couvtrture  dt  c«ileur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couveiture  endommagie 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couvertwe  restai^  et/ou  peKcuWe 


□ 
□ 
□ 

□ 


□ 


.  Cover  title  missing  /  Le  titre  de  couverlure  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Carles  gtegraphiqucs  en  couieur 

Coloured  \nk  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couieur  (Le.  airtre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  Mtustrations  /  ' 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couieur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  idHion  disponibie 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion  along 
interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serr^e  peut  causer  de 
I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge 
inlirieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possft)ie,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  Use  peut  que  ceriaines  pages 
blanches  ajouties  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texle,  mals,  torsque  ccla  4tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  M  film4es. 

Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  suiH>Mmeniaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lul  a 
M  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  cxcm* 
plaire  qui  sont  peul^tra  uNqiiet  du  point  de  vut  bibli- 
ographlque,  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  inuge  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  ia  mi\ho- 
de  noimiit  de  ffimage  smt  irxfiqute  cf-detsous. 

I    I  Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couieur 
I    I  Pages  damagtd/PaBetendommagiea 

□ Pages  restored  andAor  tanAiated  / 
Paget  r^uritt  etAMi  pelHeutits 

ry(  P&gescfocoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
LlJ  Paget  dfcolortfes.taclMtitsou|^u«es 


I    I  Pages  detached  /  Paget  ddtachtet 

I  y/j  Showthrough/ Transparence 

j    j  Quality  of  print  varies  / 


□ 
□ 


□ 


Quality  in^gale  de  I'impresslon 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppi^nnentalre 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  ;  a  -  'ips, 
tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  eriSurf  jhe  best 
possible  Image  /  Les  pages  totaur  ent  ou 
parlieliement  obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'eriasa,  une 
pelure,  etc..  ont  6i6  film^es  h  nouveau  de  fa(on  k 
(Menir  la  meiReura  image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discokMiratlons  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
cotoratlons  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
tHm^es  deux  fois  atin  d'obtenir  ia  meilleure  image 
possMe. 


This  item  is  filmed  it  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below  / 

C«  document  est  iilmtf  au  laux  dt  induction  iM'mui  ci>detseut. 


rl2^  ,  ,  ^  ,  .      .-'fix  .        22X  26X  30X 

I   I   I   I    I   I   I   M   I   !✓!   I   I   I   I   M   I   I  |T-T-| 

i2x  i6x  20x  ux  MX  aaT 


Th«  copy  filmed  h«re  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 


L'  exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  k  la 
gAr^rositA  de: 


ItotloMi  Library  of  Camda 


BIbllotMque  natlonale  du  Caiwd* 


This  title  was  microfilmed  with  the  generous 
pennission  of  the  rights  holder 


Ce  titre  a  6\6  microfilm^  avec  I'almable  autorisation 
du  dAtenteur  des  droits: 


David  H.  StrlngM- 


Oavfd  H.  Stringer 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility  of 
the  original  copy  and  in  i<eeping  with  the  filming 
contract  specifications. 

Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on  the 
last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impression,  or 
the  bacic  cover  when  appropriate.  All  other  original 
copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the  first  page  with  a 
printed  or  illustrated  impression,  and  ending  on  the 
last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  -»(meaning  "CONTINUED"),  or 
the  symbol  ▼  (meaning  "END"),  whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed  begin- 
ning in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to  right  and 
top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


1 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6X6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et  de 
la  nettetd  de  t'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en  conformHA 
avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de  filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim^e  sont  film^s  en  commenyant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derni6re  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte  d'im- 
pression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second  plat, 
selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires  origin- 
aux sont  film6s  en  commen^ant  par  la  premiere 
page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte  d'impression  ou 
d'illustration  et  en  tennlnant  par  la  demidre  page 
qui  comporte  une  telle  empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernifere  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le  cas: 
le  symbole  -»  signifie  "A  SUiVRE".  le  symbole  V 
signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  6tre 
f ilm^s  k  des  taux  de  rMuction  diffdrents.  Lorsque 
le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  £tre  reproduit  en 
un  seul  cliche,  il  est  U\m6  h  partir  de  I'angle 
supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  k  droite,  et  de  haut 
en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre  d  'images 
ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants  illustrent  la 
mtthode. 


1 


2 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

3 


MICROCOPY  RtSOlUTION  TiST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


s 


THE 

GUN-RUNNER 


A  Novel 


ARTHUR  STRINGER 


8S3S3 


NEW  TORS 
B.  W.  DODGE  &  COMPANT 


PREFAXOBT  NOTE 

A  portion  of  this  novel  was  printed  in  the 
January,  1909,  number  of  *'The  Popular  MagO' 
Bine/'  under  the  same  tiih  MMdk  i$  ktf  iMtrf 
for  tk^MtorifimUt^mpkU  farm. 


DEDICATION. 


To  my  old  hmkie  and  friend  amd  eamp^mato, 
fUtK  dnbs  CittMfl  iUfai 

who  in  the  good  daps  that  are  gone  was  known 
as  "Shorty/'  and  knocked  about  aU  the 
blessed  8evm  Seas  of  ike  earth  and  mnoked 
over  eampfSres  m  fonr  continents  and  ad- 
ventured  up  and  down  the  length  of  ike 
two  Americas  and  always  loved  War 
and  Danger  and  the  Open  Road, 
and  fvll  many  a  time  tramped 
and  camped  and  hunted  and 
wen$  hungry  witn  me,  I 
^et  apprdHeneiveily  yet 
affectionately  inscribe 


CONTENTS 

""^T^The  City  of  PwU  

U.-Tto  Bftak  la      Ckip   M 

m.'-Tto  Can  tnm  mtlioat   if 

IT.-~Tte  Mha  m  Board   44 

V.—TI»  W«b  9t  iBtrtgM   IT 

▼I.^-TlMtM«MI  ▼iiftwr.   n 

▼U.-Jm  Tiai^  8k«iB   a 

▼III.— Tiw  Faim  aad  tlM  Board   n 

HL— Tha  OoavtrHos  TraUa   iq% 

X.— Tl»  Rerorae  of  tbe  Shield  ii» 

XI.— The  Movement  in  Retreat  129 

XII.— The  Ball-Baiters.  141 

XIII.  — The  Recovered  Oroand.........  ,  151 

XIV.  — The  Pyrrhic  Victor.  if$ 

XV.— The  Lull  in  the  Storm  if$ 

XVI.— The  Vernal  InvwIOD   iff 

XVII.— Tha  FraOM  Orowa  m 

ZTUI^Tia  OHMt  oC  MlHiaw,  m 


z  CONTBNTS 

XIX.— The  Intercepted  Call.  221 

XX.— The  Listening  AII7.  281 

XXI.— The  Unexpected  Blow  ».«.,...  288 

XXII.— The  Primordial  Hour.....  248 

XXIIL— The  Recaptured  K^.  Hf 

XXIV.— The  CaU  tm  Helpk  ttt 

XXV.— Tha  Tminp  Card  m 

XXVI.— Tha  Dead-Llne  289 

XXVII.— Tl»  night  m 

XXVIIL— The  ConateT'inoreeB  80f 

XXIJL— Tka  Dtagvtad  TML  tlS 

XXX^— Tte  Lait  IMtdi  224 

XXXL—Tha  Laal  Biogt.  222 

XXXli.p-Tlia  Laat  BtuaA   841 

XXXIII.  — The  Last  Word  v  864 

XXXIV.  — The  Last  Debt  ,  866 


THE  GUN.BUNNEB 


CHAPTEB  I 


ran  oiTT  Of  nDOL 

The  fog  groped  and  felt  its  way  alcng  the 
water-front.  Then  it  crept  np  to  the  throat  of 
the  city,  like  a  grey  hand,  and  strangled  Broad- 
way into  an  mninons  qnietnesa. 

It  tii^iteBed  its  grip,  as  the  day  grew  older, 
leaving  the  cross-streets  from  Union  Square 
to  the  Battery  clotted  with  congested  traffic.  It 
brought  on  an  untimely  protest  of  blinking 
street-lamps,  as  uncannily  bewiiv  ering  as  the 
mid-day  cock-crowing  of  a  solar  eclipse.  It 
caused  the  vague  and  shadowy  walls  of  sky- 
aerapen  to  blossoiB  into  eomitless  yellow  win- 
dow tiers,  as  oiose-packed  as  the  eeales  of  a 
snake.  Bells  sonnded  from  gloom-wrapt  ship- 
ping along  the  saw-tooth  line  of  the  river  slips, 
tolling  the  watches  and  falling  silent  and  tolling 
again,  as  they  might  have  tolled  in  mid-oceai  , 
or  on  some  lonely  waterway  that  led  to  the  ut- 
tormott  ends  of  the  earth. 

Now  and  thou,  oat  of  the  diitaaoa,  a  ziw- 


2  THB  CITT  OF  PISKIL 

ferry  or  a  car-float  tug  could  be  heard  growl- 
inf  and  whimpering  for  room,  as  it  wrangled 
over  its  right-of-way.  Everything  moved  slow- 
ly through  the  mniBed  streets.  Carriages  erept 
across  the  sepulchral  quietness  with  a  strange 
and  uncouth  reverence,  Kke  tourists  through  a 
catacomb.  Surface  cars,  crawling  funereally 
forward,  felt  their  way  with  gong-strokes,  as 
blmd  men  feel  their  way  with  stick-taps.  An 
occaadonal  tazicab,  swinging  tentatively  out  of  a 
side-street,  slewed  and  skidded  in  the  greasy 
mud.  Lonely  drivers  watched  from  their  seats, 
watched  like  sea  captains  from  bric(g«-«iids 
when  ice  has  invaded  their  sea  lanes. 

Under  the  gas-lamps,  dulled  to  a  reddish  yel- 
low, passed  a  thin  scattering  of  pedestrians.  A 
tonch  of  desolation  dnng  about  each  figure  that 
groped  its  way  throni^  the  sbort-vistaed  street, 
as  though  the  thoroughfare  it  trod  mn  a  lonely 
moraine  and  the  figure  itself  the  last  man  that 
walked  a  ruined  world.  It  was  the  worst  fog 
that  New  York  had  known  for  years;  the  dty 
lay  under  it  like  a  mummy  swathed  in  grey. 

Yet  the  glo(»n  seemed  to  crown  it  with  a  new 
wonder,  to  «Mtow  it  with  a  n«w  dignity.  That 
all  too  shallow  tongue  of  land  liutt  is  Hpped  by 
the  East  and  North  rivers  took  on  strange  and 
undreamt-of  distances.  It  lay  engulfed  in  twi- 
light  mysteries,  enriched  with  unlooked-lor  pot- 


THE  CITT  OP  PEBIL  8 

sibilities.  Its  narrow  acres  of  brick  and  stone 
and  asphalt  became  something  unbounded  and 
inflnite,  as  bewildering  and  wide  as  the  open 
AfUmtie.  It  Memed  to  haibonr  f antaatio  poten- 
tiiOitiM.  It  MeoMd  to  raleaw  the  Bidrit  of  ro- 
mance, as  moonlight  nhfetten  a  lover's  lipe. 

Yet  Lingg,  the  wireless  operator  of  the 
Laminian,  became  more  and  more  alarmed  at 
the  opacity  of  this  fog.  He  felt,  as  he  burrowed 
mole-like  across  the  mist-blanketed  city,  that  he 
litd  been  a  fool  to  kave  the  ship.  He  should 
have  listened  to  reason.  And  now  he  had  missed 
UBimj,  He  was  lost  in  tiie  very  heart  of  thai 
vast  and  undecipherable  wilderness,  which  had 
always  filled  him  with  a  vague  fear,  even  in  the 
open  sunlight,  where  its  serrated  skyline  re- 
minded him  of  a  waiting  trap- jaw.  He  was 
hopelessly  at  sea  in  the  silence  which  surround- 
ed him,  overawed  by  the  quietness  which  the 
tun  of  a  street-oofser  might  oonvert  into  some 
perilous  ambuscade.  Heilig,  tiie  engineer,  had 
been  right.  He'd  been  a  fool  to  come  ashore. 

He  recalled,  l  little  enviously,  the  figure  of 
the  engineer,  the  morose  and  laii  and  slatternly 
figure  in  ragged  carpet-slippers,  leaning  against 
the  ship's  rail  and  smoking  the  long-stemmed 
€feiman  idpe  its  Idne  China  bold.  He  re- 
membered the  engineer's  impasdve  stare  and 
his  almoet  placid  cmnt  of  Drotest  mm  he  wiieelAd 


*  THB  0IT7  0FPKB1C 

••mere  ynh  off  to,  sonT"  bt  irnkti,  M  Lbun 

.  •        iamiman  was  chafing  and  ft»ttinB 
a^that  stnnpiece  just  as  hU  own 
bjp^andft,ttu«  .gai^t  th.  d.«a..i„ 

""wwed,  resolutely 

.gZ?t  %« 

"Nol»'  exploded  the  impatient  youth. 

inter^l^^*  * "  ^ 

"What  am  I  after! «dioed  tiie  oflier,  having 
no  answer  ready.  '  ^ 

"What  d'ynh  want  with  all  thatr*  demanded 
the  engineer,  with  a  contemptuous  pipe-wav» 
that  embraced  the  entii.  island  of  Manhattan. 

1  pen  I  want  to  mind  my  own  business," 
was  the  reproving  anwrw.  It  was  foUowed  by 
a  contemplative  eyiM)link  or  two  fnan  the  man 
gVouto1S:f:^"^'"  Bntthedlagnatdidnot 

thip -"'^''''^T^'  heU-holes  liko 

i^^n«  T"*^'  ^'^^  «  «Iow  and  sa. 

gwiong  ttde-wag  of  his  head.  He  spat  into  th« 


CITY  OF  PEBIL  6 

«Hp  mini  it  WM  a  lito  of  Ilk  iaMU  <on- 

tsmpi 

"I'm  not  going  beyond  Broadway,"  the  half- 
repen^jint  Lingg  stopped  to  explain,  marvelling 
«t  tiiat  itnmfB  aad  lonely  seaman's  fixed  dis- 
tmst  of  soUd  land.  Ht  did  not  tidnk  it  wwtii 
while  to  enlarge  on  how  iriok  ht  wm  of  the  ih^ 
stink  and  the  qnietness,  of  the  fmnes  of  rotting 
fruit,  of  the  heavy  mnsk-smell  of  harbonr  water, 
and  the  febrile  rattle  and  datter  of  donkej  ». 


Yvkm  flBd  bid  enongh  b'tween  here  and 
Broadway/'  «?owod  the  pladd  miMnfhrope  at 
the  ship's  rail,  eontemplating  hit  i^o-onoie  •• 
thongh  it  were  incense  iitii«  bofm  tiio  Mito- 

mised  wisdom  of  all  the  ages. 

But  Lingg  was  not  altogether  looking  for  the 
bifl.  He  had  been  remembering  how  one  of  the 
jOBior  offiem  of  the  Pretoria,  when  in  port, 
spent  his  two  riolooi  days  riding  up  and  down 
m  the  Fifth  Avenue  Wei,  the  ddiriooa 
'buses,  which  he  described  as  "bee-Mvoe  of 
swarmmg  beauty,"  where  he  was  ignored  and 
^wed  and  walked  over  by  "the  ikest  women 
W^tver  wore  feathers,"  to  his  hungering 
Aaart'boontait.  And  Lingg,  too,  was  hungering 
for  some  i^m^  of  life  beyond  that  of  a  dirty 
fore^ieck;  for  a  »ight  of         kg.  aatyr-like 
uan  that  of  a  tott^Hite^  Ma  wptiilB.  Bo 


6  Tte  0IT7  OW  PB8IL 


muited  to  mo  Kgiit  aiicl  eiikmr  uad  maimmSL 
The  impiirfsd  imotioiial  traeli  of  700^  mM 
for  tome  imciisoerned  adventoro.  !IE^  abofo  all 

he  was  swayed  by  a  wordless,  yet  none  tlio  Itn 
compelling  hnnger  to  behold  the  faces  of  women 
and  girls.  Some  subliminal  sex-hunger,  after 
80  many  empty  days  at  sea,  made  him  long  for 
that  yagoe  upper  world  which  seemed  embodied 
iBfliitv«ryword,G^.  HewtotedtoMoflim, 
good  or  bad,  with  painted  faoes  or  pnro.  It 
scarcely  mattered,  so  long  as  he  could  look  at 
theuL  They  would  all  be  goddesses  to  him, 
Olympian  beings  who  breathed  some  diviner  air, 
trailing  clouds  of  mystery  after  their  most 
eatiial  footiteps.  He  did  not  ask  to  walk  or 
•PMk  with  them.  Thdr  lowUest  ddrt-nddi 
woM  seem  only  too  like  the  ruffle  of  angel 
wings.  He  merely  wanted  to  brush  against 
them,  indeterminately,  in  the  city's  crowded 
laces,  to  watch  their  coming  and  going,  to  hear 
iir  occasional  voices,  to  let  his  eyes  dwell  on 
tiidr  faces  as  a  seaman  looks  at  passing  land- 
lights.  For  Lingg  was  still  young,  dean-living 
and  dean-thonghted  beyond  the  ways  of  the 
sailor.  Heilig's  assistant  on  the  Lmmnian  had 
more  than  once  qpokm  of  bi«i  as  "Ifoaly- 
mouth." 

And  then,  amazingly  enough,  came  the  girl 
herself,  ^i^ithont  sign  or  ^iranung. 


THB  OUT  or  PSBIL  r 
"Wtet  dM  Mmd  or  till  ttm  h»  Marody 
knew.  ItwMtooMi^miaaMoltegoUttr 
■id«-itreet8,  and  tiMy  iim  tiaiidfaif  1^  to  fiMib 
almost,  when  he  looked  up  and  Mw  iMr.  Bad 
he  seen  a  mermaid  over  the  ahip'i  rail  U 
not  have  startled  him  mort.   Th«M  wit  bo 
evading  the  situation;  there  was  no  A^iwt  of 
being  mistaken.  It  was  Adventnre,  in  answer  to 
Ws  prayer.  It  was  Romance,  as  he  had  asked. 
Aad  ho  had  nevor  so  mnch  as  clapped  eyes  on 
jwBfWow,  Nor  was  her  face  a  painted  face. 
i«i  BO  betraying  cnpid-bow  streak  of 
«  tta  s^rflly  inirflfa^        There  was 
no  barbano  bla<&  g«ii  on  ^  undrooping  eye- 
lashes, no  teU-tale  blue  paint  on  fho  o^Uds. 
There  were  no  disquieting  M^iiiHinMBit,  ^o 
sidelong  and  predatory  glances,  no  ensuariw 
smi^taon  of  tender  levity.  His  startled  yes 
WBlfldateet  no  granite  savagery  under  the  vel- 
^  «f  Iwr  QBooiiMnu    She  seemed  merely 
Woman  mcamate  to  Mm,  the  aort  of  woman  he 
had  sometimes  dreamt  about  on  tmiie 
^en  the  Sonthani  Groaa  awmif  low  to  IIm^ 

"Ton  are  Gustav  Lingg,"  she  said  quietly, 
•od  as  plain  as  day,  while  his  wide  eyes  stiU 
wtwwd  #my  tint  and  shadow  and  line  of  her 
mroobiid  fine.  On  ^  ftuse  he  seemed  to 

8S9SS 


KARtOROUGH  TOWNSHIP 
EUWC  U6RARY 


S  THE  CIT7  OF  PEBIL 

see  notliiBg  Iml  a  fsatlt  7«t  datmiatd  ibilr^ 

tion. 

"Y— yes,**  he  stammered,  vacnonsly,  as 
though  her  statement  had  been  a  question.  A 
faint  tingle  of  something  that  was  neither  fear 
nor  delight  went  needling  up  and  down  his  back- 
bone. 

''I  want  to  talk  to  yon,"  tlie  woman  said, 

quite  gravely.  "I  must  talk  to  you— alone." 

He  knew  that  she  had  turned  and  joined  him 
as  he  moved  wonderingly  forward,  with  his 
staring  eyes  still  on  her.  Then  the  futility,  the 
hopelessness,  the  impossibility  of  it  all  suddenly 
ttune  home  to  him.  He  was  conscions  of  a  sink- 
ing feeling  in  the  pit  of  his  sttmuuili.  Gonraga 
sank  away  from  him,  confidence  sucked  out  of 
him,  like  water  out  of  an  unplugged  bath-bowl. 

If  she  had  only  stood  before  him  less  alluring, 
less  Olympian  in  her  loveliness,  he  might  have 
been  less  bewildered.  If  she  had  been  the  Other 
Kind,  openly  and  nneqnivocaHy,  he  might  hava 
grown  less  afraid  of  her. 

But  he  felt  and  knew  it  was  a  mistake,  a  fool- 
ish and  colossal  mistake.  'A  vague  and  slowly 
mounting  fear  took  the  place  of  his  earlier  as- 
tonishment. The  city  itself  had  already  intimi- 
dated hiuL  remembered  the  engineer's  op- 
probrious smnming-up  of  its  perils.  There  was 


He  raised  his  hat  from  bis  head  awkwardly, 
muttering  he  scarcely  knew  what,  as  he  heard 
ynioi  again.  He  backed  away  from  her 
at  dM  flnayed  to  draw  nearer,  and  stumbled, 
almost  dnmkraly,  while  die  stood  regarding 
him  in  open  wonder.  Then  Iw  tamed  and  fled 
from  her,  fled  from  her,  abashed  and  ««g»fag^ 
fled  from  her  blindly,  like  a  field-moBM  fitm  * 
coiled  blacksnake. 

He  did  not  stop  until  he  had  ronnded  a  street- 
eoner.  Ho  fdt,  as  he  did  so,  that  he  was  de- 
BMiiiiig  his  manhood  before  some  possible  high 
adventore.  He  vagaely  snspeeted  that  oa»  of 
life's  vast  occasions  had  slipped  away  from  him 
nnreoognised.  But  he  was  still  afraid,  foolishly 
afraid.  He  was  glad  to  dip  deeper  and  deeper 
into  the  city,  as  though  it  were  a  cleansing  bath 
might  wash  away  his  lubberly  awkward- 
aesi.  He  was  glad  whea  the  fog  crept  into  the 
Btroets  and  helped  to  oUiterato  him  and  hia 
shame.  He  was  glad  to  wander  miknowxi  and 
unrecognised  about  the  gn^-dnqpod  t^^tndt 
that  engulfed  him. 

He  knew  that  the  woman  had  not  followed 
him.  But  all  that  afternoon  he  wandered  and 
tarrkd  and  walked  about  with  the  feeling  that 
ho  was  BOt  aloat.  He  kqtt  looMng  over  hia 
ihoaUter  from  time  to  time,  poaderiag  lomo 
liW^Daat  jtt  peniateat  aoiio  <tf  diavdot  a« 


THE  CITY  OF  F 


felt  as  tiiough  he  were  being  shadowed.  He 
oOQld  not  shake  off  the  impression  that  some 
vagae  figure  or  two  was  guardedly  dogging  his 
footsteps. 

This  sense  of  being  shadowed  grew  stronger 
as  night  came  on.  It  made  him  doubly  anxious 
to  get  back  to  his  ship,  to  know  the  security  of 
his  bald,  little,  white-painted  cabin.  It  caused 
him  to  reiterate  to  himself  the  engineer's  morose 
dietnm  that  the  city  was  not  to  be  trusted.  He 
had  hungered  for  the  Unexpected ;  he  had  been 
restless  for  his  emprising  hour  or  two  on  land. 
But  this,  he  muttered  to  himself,  was  the  kind  of 
night  that  took  all  the  curl  out  of  Romance.  He 
was  not  worthy  of  the  venture.  He  was  better 
suited  to  the  quietness  of  a  ship 's  cabin.  He  dis- 
liked the  thought  of  &e  two  padng  shadows 
that  seemed  to  be  following  him  thron§^  the 
fog.  He  wanted  the  Lamimtm*8  dirty  fore-ded: 
once  more  under  his  feet. 

He  designedly  k^pt  out  of  all  danger  zones,  to 
make  ecurity  doubly  sure.  A  thick-voiced  man 
with  a  black  muffler  about  his  throat  had 
trailed  after  him  to  demand  if  he  had  no  old 
dothflB  to  dispose  of  .  Bat  he  did  not  so  muoli  as 
stop  to  aiurwer.  A  stranger  in  a  Stetson  hat, 
still  later,  caught  companionably  at  his  arm  and 
implored  him  to  drink  with  him.  But  he  freed 
himself  sharply  and  kept  on  his  way.  A  figure 


THE  CITY  OF  PEBIL  U 


or  two  Uo<&ed  his  path  ominously,  but  lio  ddrt- 
ed  them,  as  a  careful  pilot  skirts  his  ofaamiel- 
buoys.  He  did  not  care  to  run  risks.  He  felt 
that  he  was  still  in  the  land  of  the  enemy.  He 
kept  to  the  open,  blindly  and  doggedly.  He 
knew  but  one  goal,  and  that  goal  lay  beyond  the 
Laminian's  odorous  gangplank.  He  fought  his 
devious  way  towards  it,  like  a  spawning  sock- 
eye  fighting  its  way  to  a  river  source. 

He  hurried  along  the  fog-wrapt  canons,  still 
haunted  by  the  impression  of  some  unknown 
figure  dogg'Qg  his  steps.  He  felt,  as  night  and 
the  fog  deepened  together,  that  the  city  was 
nothing  more  than  a  many-channeled  river-bed, 
and  that  he  waded  along  its  bottom,  breathing 
a  new  element,  too  thick  for  air,  too  ethereaUsed 
for  water.  He  saw  streets  that  were  new  to  him, 
streets  where  the  misted  globes  of  electric  lights 
became  an  undulating  double  row  of  white  tulips. 
Then  he  stumbled  into  Broadway.  Bvt  it  was 
a  Broadway  with  the  soft  pedal  on.  Its  roar  of 
sound  was  so  muffled  he  scarcely  knew  it.  Then 
he  came  to  a  tqnare  when  the  scattered  lamp- 
globes  loolnd  lOro  bobbles  of  gold  oaiic^t  in  tree- 
branches.  Under  these  tree-branches  be  saw 
loungers  on  benches,  mysterious  and  motionless 
figures,  like  broken  rows  of  statuary,  sleeping 
men  in  the  final  and  casual  attitudes  of  death. 
Above  these  %are8  he  could  see  wet  maple- 


12  THE  CITT  or  PEBIL 

leaves,  hanging  as  still  and  lifeless  as  fhovgli 
they  had  been  stencilled  from  sheets  of  green 
copper.  His  eyes  fell  on  floating  street-signs, 
blurs  of  coloured  electrics  cut  off  from  the  in- 
visible walls  whieh  backed  them.  He  eau^ 
glimpses  of  fhe  softened  bulbs  of  aittomatie 
signs,  like  moving  gold-ilsh  seen  through 
frosted  glass.    Then  he  saw  more  lights, 
serried  lights,  subdued  into  balloons  of  misty 
pearl.    They  threaded  the  facade  of  some 
gigantic  hotel,  like  jewel-strings  about  the  throat 
of  a  barbaric  woman.   But  he  could  not  re- 
member fhe  place.  And  again  he  floundered  on 
towards  the  water-front,  disquieted  with  vague 
and  foolish  thoughts,  as  much,  oppressed  by  the 
orderly  streets  as  though  he  were  escaping  from 
some  sea-worn  harbour  slum  of  vice  and  out- 
lawry. He  still  wanted  his  cabin,  as  a  long- 
harried  chipmunk  wants  its  tree-hole. 

He  was  well  out  of  it,  he  tdd  himself  reMsor- 
ingly,  though  he  still  kept  wondering  why  the 
w«  lan  had  stopped  him.  He  remembered  de- 
tails of  her  dress,  the  sense  of  assurance  and 
well-being  in  her  mere  figure  poise,  the  open  way 
in  which  her  eyes  had  met  his.  He  began  to 
wonder  why  he  had  lacked  the  audacity  to  re- 
spond to  that  dear  challenge  of  fate^  He  de- 
manded of  himsdf  why  he  had  ran  «w»j  ttim 
the  very  thing  he  had  ben  Mdili^ 


THE  CITY  or  TEBSL  IB 

B»  hum,  aa  1^  growl  of  tlte  ferry-whistles 
gvow  loader,  that  lift  was  Bearing  the  river.  He 
felt  as  ungainly  as  a  tortoise  seidUng  haok  to 

its  water-edge  of  escape,  bat  his  OfflifMmce  be- 
gan to  retnm  to  him  as  he  found  himself  nearer 
and  nearer  his  brink  of  delivery.  He  could  per- 
ceive the  ridiculous  figure  he  had  cut  He  oonld 
even  reaKse  that  he  had  defeated  his  own  ends. 
He  was  conscious  of  a  growing  overtone  of  dis- 
content, a  peevish  resentment  against  his  own 
wMte-livered  irresolution.  And  he  would  go 
aboard,  and  Oie  next  day  be  out  at  sea,  with  the 
mystery  of  it  aQ  stiU  mianswered. 

He  strode  on  through  the  fog.  It  was  not 
until  he  came  to  a  narrow  street-erossing  be- 
tween  two  blank-windowed  warehouses  that  ho 
saw  his  way  obstructed.  But  he  noticed,  as  he 
^e  to  a  sudden  stop,  that  his  path  was  barred 
^  a  eab  with  an  open  door.  It  blocked  the  cross- 
ing, very  mnoh  as  a  Neapolitan  corricolo  ma- 
nauvres  for  a  by  eatting  aoross  a  pedes- 
tnan's  path. 

The  youth  drewnp  and  peered  in  throat  that 
door,  with  a  slightly  quickened  pulse,  wondering 
why  the  impassive  figure  on  the  box  ^ooM  iS 
thns  blocking  his  way. 

Than  he  saw  that  the  cab  was  not  empty. 

imemg  quietly  forward  from  the  seat  was 


14 


THE  CITY  OF  PEBIL 


an  intent  and  waiting  fignre — a  woman's  figore. 
It  was  the  woman  from  whom  he  had  so  ig- 
nominiously  fled. 

He  felt,  this  time,  no  horripilating  tingle  of 
shock.  His  fond  of  wonder  seemed  to  be  ez- 
hansted.  He  stood  staring  at  her,  almost  ab- 
stractedly, with  the  mild  and  resigned  bewilder- 
ment of  a  man  who  has  seen  lightning  strike 
twice  in  the  same  spot. 

"Quick  I"  said  the  woman,  with  an  almost  im- 
perious movement  of  her  gloved  hand. 

"What?"  asked  Ldngg,  inadequately,  irrele- 
vantly. 

"I  wanted  to  warn  yon,"  ihe  wmnan  whis- 
pered, as  she  moved  back  on  the  cab  seat,  obvi- 
ously to  make  room  for  him.  **I  nrnt  warn  yoa 
— ^but  not  here." 

"Of  what?"  asked  Lingg.  He  saw  that  she 
was  quite  alone  in  the  cab. 

"Gomel"  she  otmimanded,  ignoring  his  ques- 
tion. 

He  stepped  into  the  hooded  gloom  like  a 
coerced  schoolboy.  He  was  not  afraid,  he  as- 
sured himself.  It  was  merely  that  he  was  v^. 
willing  to  be  made  the  blind  tool  of  foroes  iie 
could  not  comprehend. 

"Of  what?"  he  repeated,  noticing  that  the 
oab  moved  forward  the  moment  tb(  door  had 
slammed  shut 


XBB  CITY  OF  PBBIL  15 

"Not  to  sail  on  the  Laminian,"  said  the  wom^ 
an  at  his  side.  He  conld  detect  a  subtle  perfume 
a^ttt  her  presence,  a  flowery  and  effeminising 
perfume  idiich  made  him  think  of  New  England 
village  gardeni.  An  older  man  would  have 
thoni^t  of  bonddrs. 

"  Why  not  Y"  he  asked.  The  woman  oonld  tee 
that  he  was  not  as  impressed  as  he  might  be. 
"It  wiU  not  be  safe." 
"It  never  is,  on  those  third-class  boats." 
He  insisted  on  being  literal  or  nothing. 
"But  there  are  dangers  ahead  of  yon— <Uuii- 
gers  you  don't  and  can't  understand." 

"I  don't  see  how  I  can  help  that,"  said  the 
yoatk  of  little  imagination.  "When  the  Com- 
pany pnts  me  on  a  ship  or  gives  me  a  station 
anywhwes,  IVe  got  to  stick  to  it" 
'  *  Then  you  don 't  believe  met" 
"It's  not  a  matter  of  believing.  It's  man  a 
matter  of  not  understanding  you." 

A  change  seemed  to  creep  over  her,  a  light- 
«mig  and  relaxing  change,  such  as  would  come 
to  the  New  Ihigland  garden  he  had  thought  of 
when  it  passed  f nan  shadow  to  sonli^t. 

"Would  you  like  to  understand  me!"  she 
asked,  turning  her  eyes  full  on  his  somewhat 
abashed  young  face.  He  blushed  and  tinned 
under  the  directness  of  her  gaze. 


16  THE  dTY  OF  PIQBIL 


out. 

'*WoiiH  7€fa  ftay  and  tfjl"  iiit  uaummd, 

pregnantlf. 
The  prospect  did  not  ezaetly  appal  him.  It 

merely  puzzled  him  now  as  something  beyond 
the  reach  of  his  delimited  imagination.  The 
cnrl  hadn't  been  taken  out  of  Romance,  after 
all,  he  told  himself.  He  conld  see  the  brooding 
spirit  of  her,  incarnate  before  his  very  eyes, 
coifed  and  gowned  like  a  goddess.  Bnt  the  very 
radiance  of  the  vision  made  him  doubly  afraid 
of  her. 

**l*m  afraid  IH  hm  to  fet  hiA,**  m  bis 

hesitating  rejoinder. 

"Back  where t" 

"To  my  ship,"  he  faltered. 

"Bnt  yon  mustn't!**  phe  mnrmnred,  with  a 
solidtons  hand  on  his  still  tingling  arm. 

"I've  got  to  get  back,"  he  persisted,  reaohing 
and  fombling  for  the  door. 

"Bnt  not  yet— -not  here,"  she  bagged  him. 

"I  must,"  he  declared,  trying  to  stand  on  his 
feet  nnder  the  cranq;ang  oab-hood,  tad  *"gg''*g 
at  the  door-handle. 

"Only  listen  to  me  for  a  moment"  the  woman 
was  saying,  almost  pleadingly. 

He  i^owed  her  to  draw  him  gently  ba<&  into 


m  CSTf  Of,  PBBIL  17 

Um  Mftt  beside  her.  Bat  diiqmet  had  win 
tahBB  potMBsion  of  him. 

"Am  1 10  tenriblot'*  tho  adnd,  with  her  hand 
still  on  his  arm.  Her  vdoe  wm  low  and  quiet; 
her  half-smiling  lips  were  parted  a  little,  givfaig 
s  touch  of  languid  abandon  to  her  otherwise 
intent  and  earnest  face.  And  here  was  the  very 
thing  he  had  been  so  restlessly  in  search  of; 
but  now  that  it  was  before  him,  within  his  grasp, 
k«  wia  wordlessly  afraid  of  it 

"N— ao,  yon're  not  terriUe,"  ht  |efki^ 
assured  her,  as  though  the  words  had  to  bt  paid 
out  like  links  of  a  rusted  cable. 

"  You're  not  afraid  of  meT'»  she  inquired,  with 
a  disarming  soft  intimacy  of  tone  that  sent  the 
Wood  onoe  more  rioting  through  his  veins.  He 
did  not  raswer.  Ha  merely  gazed  at  her  in  in- 
articulate and  tingiiag  wonte. 

"You're  not,  are  you?"  she  persisted,  stoop, 
mg  forward  and  turning  her  body  about  in  tha 
cab  seat  so  that  her  face  was  dizeetly  bafora 
him,  within  a  foot  of  his  own. 
"No,"  he  managed  to  say. 
Bs  notieed       she  afanost  closed  her  eyes. 

"Than  kiss  me^'>  he  heard  her  tow  voice  mur- 
muring, with  her  parted  red  lips  lifting  and 
creeping  audaciously  iqp  to  lii%  her  hMid  already 
on  his  shoulder. 

He  drew  baok^  wiute  and  stouiad.  li  wm 


18  THE  CITY  OF  PEBIL 


iMjroiicI  reason.  It  was  so  beyond  reason  that 
it  brought  a  hundred  unkenneled  suspicions 
yelping  and  snapping  about  him.  Things  that 
once  seemed  accidental  and  trivial  took  on  a 
new  significance.  He  could  carpenter  inconse- 
quentialities  into  dim  and  towering  structures  of 
intrigue.  Hewasafraidof  himself  and  hit  fiir^ 
roundings. 

The  woman  must  have  seen  this  the  very  mo- 
ment she  locked  her  arms  about  his  reluctant 
neck,  for  her  face  changed  and  hardened.  Even 
before  he  saw  that  change,  though,  he  was 
crowding  and  struggling  and  pulling  away  from 
her. 

The  entire  sitiuitioii  was  so  mlodnd-f or»  to 
ttartling,  that  no  new  tarn  of  it  oonld  add  to  his 
sense  of  sniprise.  He  was  conscious  of  the  fact 
that  she  was  crying  out,  while  she  still  clung  to 
him,  and  that  the  cab  had  come  to  a  sudden  stop. 
He  noticed  a  figure  at  the  door  and  a  man's 
huge  iiand  dart  in  towards  him  as  it  swung  open. 
And  still  again  he  heard  her  shrid:  of  nmidated 
fear.  It  mi^t  even  have  been  anger-%e  was 
not  sure;  he  could  not  fathom  it  all.  But  he 
felt,  dimly,  that  he  was  being  tricked  into  some- 
thing beyond  his  understanding;  that  the  whole 
thing  was  some  sort  of  trap.  He  resented  being 
clawed  at ;  he  resented  the  way  in  which  the  man 
at  the  cab  door  was  dragging  and  pulling  him 


THB  0IT7  OF  PBBIL  19 

to  the  street.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt 
•■  to  that  intruder's  immediate  intention. 

The  wiMlen  operator's  one  passion  was  to 
escape,  to  llg^t  his  way  back  to  freedom.  He 
remembered  his  ship  and  his  waithig  station, 
and  how  Heilig,  the  engineer,  would  hm  the 
laugh  on  him. 

He  was  %hting  like  a  terrier  by  this  time, 
rtriking  out  blindly,  in  a  frenzy  of  sheer  panic 
He  was  stung  by  the  injustice  of  it  aU,  and  kept 
calling  and  shouting  for  help  as  he  fought,  for- 
tified by  the  memory  that  bis  hands  were  dean, 
that  he  had  done  nothing  amiss. 

He  was  dazed  and  bruised,  but  he  still  fon^t  - 
and  shouted,  imagining  it  was  his  opponent's 
mad  intention  to  kill  him.  He  saw  the  shifting 
t«we8  of  men  appear  through  the  fog,  and  stand 
about  m  a  circle,  impassively  watching  his  strug- 
gles. But  still  he  fought  and  shonted. 

His  cries  brought  a  patrolman  with  a  night- 
stick m  his  hand.  He  could  see  the  circle  dis- 

could  hear  the  re- 
lieving sound  of  the  falling  club  on  the  body  of 
the  brute  above  him,  and  sharp  oaths  and 
grunts,  and  thai  eries  and  counter-cries. 

Then  a  fourth  ^rore  pushed  peremptorily  in 
through  the  re-formed  circle  of  onlookers,  a 
figure  not  in  uniform,  but  quidc-acting  and  au- 
thoritative. This  newcomer  aeoned  to  puil  the 


entangled  and  ttrnggling  trio  apart  In  om 
breath,  as  a  child  eeparatai  a  pwda-ptetpa.  H« 
flung  badL  the  dnMng  patrofanaa.  Ha  mrtpt 
aiide  tha  itUl  fii^tiiif  Mooiid  0gm.  Ha 
draofed  the  fidlen  operator  to  hii  faet,  with  a 
aharp  qnestion  cht  two  at  the  other  man,  who  was 
blowing  his  nose  on  a  handkerchief  maculated 
with  blood.  Then  he  called  out  to  the  waiting 
cab-driver:  "To  the  police  station,  straight  I" 
and  all  but  carried  the  dazed  operator  back  into 
the  waiting  carriage. 

He  tnmed  at  the  step,  before  following  the 
operator  into  that  cab,  and  spoke  a  crisp  word 
or  two  to  the  atiU  blinking  patrofanaa.  Thai  ha 
hurehed  angrilj  and  hcpatleiitly  into  tiiaeab  aii4 
•lammed  the  door  shut  as  they  went  dattwiag 
and  swinging  away  through  the  heavy  fog. 

He  left  the  patrolman  gazing  after  him 
through  the  gloom,  his  idle  night-stick  dangling 
from  his  wrist  like  a  bird's  broken  wing. 

''Can  you  beat  itt*'  gasped  the  aatoonded  of- 
ficer to  the  other  man  bnay  prodfing  aad  lealhii 
hia  own  body,  very  rnnoh  aa  a  homtwifa  Bi|^ 
explore  a  market-fowl. 

"You'd  beat  it,  all  rithtl"  retorted  the  other, 
disgustedly,  with  seismic-like  rumblings  of  the 
chest.  ''You  hare-brained  bolls 'd  beat  any- 
thing!" 


"Bnt  ^at'i  this  aU  about,  anywayt"  de- 
tt«  bewUdered  oflBcer,  shouldering  out 
tb«  orowd  with  tho  other  man  at  Lia 

heels. 

"Ood  only  knowi,"  waa  tlia*  o«hw  iiiaB»i 
tort,  morosely  brushiiiff  hia  tattond  kat  witli  fU 
INUm  of  his  hand. 

"BntwhoMhef 

"Who's  who!" 

^JjJRto  guy  who  flashed  that  Central  Qffioe 

"Oneo'WnUa^iimin." 

"Wilkiet" 

"Chief  Wilkie,  of  the  Washington  Bqimi 

and  we  Ve  made  a  nioe  meM  o' thia  Uttto  0009  o' 
nis  between  usT' 

"Thm  Where's  the  rib  figurin'  in  itt" 
ttittfflp«iattedo«oer. 
"The  ribt" 

''The  mmn  witk  Oe  FkJi  Aveoiw 
up." 

"Oh,  that's  Cherry  Purcelle— she's  the  ooma- 
on  for  the  Washington  Bureau  people." 

"Bureau-what  Bureau!"  asked  the  offioer, 
anS  IB  the  dark. 

"Tlie  Seeiel  Service  Bureau,  you  pin-head  I" 
mie  man  speaking  had  just  diseovered  a  rib 
abrasion  that  made  him  winoe  with  r^fa. 
^  "Tfa^  wh;  m  didn't  yatt  pi^  BM  wliat  I 


22  THE  cm  OP  PEBIL 


might  Ve  fanned  the  bean-boxes  off  some  o'  70a 

folks!" 

"You  make  me  sick  I''  said  the  disgusted  one, 
still  preoccapiedly  feeling  about  a  bruised  shoul- 
der. "What  d'yon  suppose  it's  called  Secret 
Service  for,  if  you've  got  to  advertise  it  on  every 
street-comer?" 

The  officer  was  slow  to  comprehend  the  situa- 
tion. 

"But  I  thought  WiMe  only  muckraked  round 
after  counterfeiters." 

"He  does  any  old  thing  his  Uncle  Sam  sets 
him  at." 

"Then  what 're  they  holdin'  up  that  quiet- 
lookin'  young  feller  forT  What 're  they  rnnnin' 
him  in  for,  anyway?" 

"Mebbe  they  don't  want  him  to  sail  to-mor- 
row." 

"But  why  shouldn't  he  sail  to-morrowf  Has 
he  done  anything?" 

"Oh,  cut  it  outi— cut  it  out!  and  get  me  to 
the  nearest  drugstore.  I  hate  dirty  work  like 

this!" 

"Then  why 're  you  doin'  it?" 

The  other  man  did  not  answer,  and  the  ques- 
tion was  repeated. 

"War's  war !"  was  all  he  said.  And  he  emit- 
ted the  laconism  as  though  he  had  no  love  for  the 
sob ject  fnan  which  it  sprang. 


THE!  GIT7  OF  P£;BIL  SB 

"You  may  as  weU  pnt  100  idae,"  suggested 

the  still  waiting  of^  -^r. 

"I  said  this  vas  Secret  Service,  didnt  It" 

grunted  the  othf  T.  •Where'dyousay  thatdnur- 
storewas!" 


CHAPTER  n 


THB  BPABK  Uf  TBB  OAP 

^'Abe  yon  the  operator  t"  asked  a  passenger 
in  a  black  rain-coat,  blocking  the  doorway  of  the 
Laminian's  wireless-room. 

The  fog  of  the  night  before  had  given  way  to 
a  driving  rain,  like  a  sulky  woman  who  finally 
and  openly  surrenders  to  tears.  New  York  lay 
behind  the  Laminian  and  her  passengers,  seem- 
ing, under  the  soft  torrent  of  those  tears,  ^ 
many-towered  city  of  loaf-sugar  which  dissolved 
lower  and  lower  into  the  flat  line  of  the  horizon. 

The  stranger  in  the  doorway  repeated  his 
question. 

*'I'm  going  to  be,"  came  the  answer  from  the 
coatless  figure  bent  over  its  mystic  appantns. 
He  had  not  so  mnch  as  tamed  to  face  Ms  inter- 

locutor. 

"Mean  it's  your  first  runt"  inquired  the  huge 
and  genial  spirit  of  the  doorway.  This  ques- 
tion, like  bis  first,  remained  unanswered.  So 
he  repeated  it  in  a  tone  of  mild  and  attained 
humility. 

M 


THE  SPAEK  IN  THE  GAP  25 

"I  can»t  be  an  operator  nnta  IVe  got  Bome- 

thing  to  operate  on,"  said  the  voice  trtm  the 
room.  Its  ba'-bed  curtness  of  tone  no  more 
reached  the  qmok  of  the  newcomer  than  water 
could  reach  a  duck's  breast. 

"Then. you're  not  sending  yet!"  he  amiably 
peraiated,  with  hia  ahoulder  against  the  door- 
post 

"Not  till  IVe  tuned  up  thia  pile  of  junht" 
was  the  preoccupied  answer  of  the  operates, 
bent  low  over  his  work. 

"You  don't  mean  she's  off  her  trolley,  our 
flrst  hour  outt"  asked  the  other.  His  patience 
aeaned  inftiite.  He  still  stood  there,  studying 
gie  shirt-sleeved  figure  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 

"I  can't  make  her  spai^  ri^it.  And  I've  got 
a  damp  helix  and  a  motor  running  weak  I" 

The  words  were  followed  by  a  gasp  of  exas- 
peration and  the  rattle  of  a  tool  flung  to  the 
floor. 

The  hngeHBhooldered  man  in  the  raincoat 
made  no  effort  to  conceal  his  disappointment. 
It  was  what  one  deserved,  he  conceded,  for  trav- 
elling in  such  a  punk-rivked,  alnsh-pitted,  coiU- 
eating  second-rater! 

But  he  remained  up  on  the  bridge-deck.  He 
continued  to  lean  nonchalantly  against  the  drip- 
rail,  peering  out  from  under  bushy  iron- 
gnj  egre^rowi  drawn  dose  to  the  flat-bridged 


26        THE  SPARK  IN  THE  GAP 


nose,  unmindful  of  the  rain  that  beat  in  from 
the  northeast  as  the  Laminian  plowed  her  way 
down  through  the  Narrows  and  the  Lower  Bay. 
His  red-rimmed,  many-wrinkled  eyes  were  still 
on  the  horizon,  and  his  massive,  russet  hand  was 
still  damped  on  the  -white  awning-stanchion  as 
Sandy  Hook  was  passed  and  Atlantic  Hi|^- 
lands  melted  down  into  a  vague  monotone  of 
rain-swept  loneliness. 

Beyond  the  ship's  officers,  who  fretted  uncer- 
tainly back  and  forth  along  the  bridge,  his  figure 
was  the  only  one  on  the  deserted  deck.  As  the 
mist  shut  off  the  last  dnll  line  of  Navesink,  and 
the  nose  of  the  stramer  swung  sonthward,  rising 
and  dipping  in  the  long  ground-swdl  of  ifie  (^>en 
Atlantic,  the  watching  man  gave  vent  to  a&  in- 
voluntary sigh  of  relief. 

But  he  still  stood  there,  in  the  slanting  rain, 
while  the  deck  beneath  his  feet  shook  with  the 
purposefnl  throb  of  the  engines  under  their 
"fall  steam  ahead,*'  and  the  pulsating  and  pon- 
derous thing  of  steel,  ''carrying  a  btme  in  heat 
teeth,"  shouldered  her  way  on  throng  a  ghost- 
like world  of  sea  and  rain.  She  seemed,  for  all 
her  pitted  and  rust-stained  plates,  dignified  with 
some  new-found  sense  of  mystery,  of  austere 
and  unknown  missions,  as  she  sought  out  her 
predoBtined  path  through  the  grey  loneliness  <^ 
her  nni¥«ne.  SQie  seemed  hnmaaised^  e^bwed 


THE  SPAEK  IN  THE  GAP  27 

with  tlie  will  of  a  sentient  and  reasoning  being. 

The  stranger  looked  about  qniddy,  as  the 
thick-necked,  short-legged  captain,  in  dripping 
oilskins,  leaned  over  the  port  bridge-gate  and 
called  back  along  the  empty  deck : 

"You,  there!— are  you  gettin'  anythingT" 

There  was  no  answer  to  his  call. 

"Aren't  you  gettin*  that  ship  out  there!"  he 
demanded  peremptorily,  as  he  flung  the  rain- 
drops from  his  oap-brim  with  a  bull-like  shake 
of  the  head. 

He  leaned  on  the  wet  rail  and  waited.  But 
still  there  was  no  answer  to  his  question.  So  he 
repeated  it,  this  time  in  a  bellow.  Then  came 
the  soBiid  of  a  cbair  being  pushed  back  on  deck- 
boards  in  the  wireless-room,  and  the  rattle  of  a 
quickly  opened  shutter. 

"I'll  have  her  in  five  minutes,"  answered  the 
operator.  The  shutter  closed  again,  sharply. 
Captain  Yandel,  the  master  of  the  Laminian, 
mumbled  under  his  breath,  and  turned  back  to 
the  bridge. 

The  man  in  the  raincoat  swung  casually  about 
on  his  heel  and  studied  the  operator's  station, 

where  the  after-deck  superstructure  rose  squaf 
and  square  as  a  scow-cabin  out  of  the  bleached 
flooring  of  the  weather-deck.  He  peered  up  to 
where  the  *'T"  aerials  of  phosphor-bronze  wire 
<m  itsit  ashwood  stretchers  bridged  the  two 


28 


THE  SPABE  IN  THE  GAP 


masfheads;  lie  followed  the  course  of  those 
united  wires  as  they  led  down  into  the  sqnaie 

little  station. 

Next  to  this  station,  on  the  right,  was  the 
ship's  lamp-room.  In  front  of  it  stood  the  flag- 
lockcr.  Farther  along  the  deck,  he  noted,  came 
the  chart-room,  and  then  the  captain's  cabin. 
In  front  of  that  again  was  the  wheel-boose  and 
the  canvas-strapped  bridge. 

On  this  bridge  an  officer,  unsheathing  a  glass, 
was  peering  out  to  sea.  The  stranger  followed 
the  direction  of  the  pointed  glass  and  made  out 
the  ponderously  rocking  mass  of  a  battleship 
as  she  crept  up  on  them  Ibrough  the  mist.  There 
was  something  ominous  and  authoritatlTe  about 
her,  with  her  sullen  turrets  and  her  monotone  of 
colour,  as  she  belched  out  her  black  smoke- 
plumes  that  hung  low  on  the  sky-line. 

Then  the  stranger  in  the  dripping  raincoat 
swung  sharply  about  and  looked  up  at  the  mast- 
head. As  he  did  so  he  saw  a  nervous  blue  spark 
appear  and  disappear  at  the  ends  of  the  tant- 
stnmg  aerials  that  cradled  back  and  forth  with 
every  dip  and  plunge  of  the  ship.  A  muffled 
erash  and  clatter  of  sound  echoed  out  of  the 
closed  station;  a  simultaneous  kiss  and  cradde 
of  broken  noise  came  from  the  masthead. 

It  was  the  wireless  operator  at  last  working 
his  key.  Ji  was  tbs  Hertdan  wsyes,  omptiii^ 


THE  SPARK  IN  THE  GAP  20 

from  tiw  mended  eoils,  winging  tbeir  way  with 
the  speed  of  light  out  throng  the  londiMM  of 

the  rain-fogged  afternoon. 

Then  came  a  space  of  silence,  interrupted  by 
the  sudden  appearance  of  the  operator,  still  in 
his  shirt-sleeves,  with  his  coat  held  over  his  head 
liko  8  hood.  He  strode  forward  to  the  bridge- 
gate»  where  he  was  met  by  the  waiting  captain. 
Together  they  bent  over  a  sheet  from  a  tinted 
form-pad.  Then  the  hooded  figure  hurried  back 
to  the  station,  and  the  slam  of  a  door  pmietnated 
his  disappearance  from  sight. 

The  man  in  the  raincoat  turned  back  to  the 
battleship,  and  stood  thoughtfully  regarding  the 
bursts  of  foam  on  her  plnnging  cutwater  and  the 
intermittent  shower  of  spray  as  she  rose  and 
dipped  in  the  cross-swell.  Throng^  the  mgine- 
room  skylight  behind  him  came  the  call  of  sub- 
terranean voices,  the  busy  clangour  of  iron 
scraping  on  iron,  the  quick  slam  of  furnace 
doors,  magnified  in  the  open  shaft-head  to 
soimds  of  titanic  proportions.  As  he  stood  there 
a  deok  steward  mounted  the  brass-plated  stair- 
way, carrying  a  tray  with  ooifee-cate  and  steam- 
ing cups  of  tea. 

The  man  at  the  rail  wheeled  about  quiddy  at 
the  unexpected  sound  of  a  voice  so  dose  behind 
him.  He  declined  the  proffered  refreshment 
bruskly  and  swimg  back  to  his  earlier  poaitioa, 


30       THE  SPABK  IN  THE  GAP 


staring  out  at  the  battleship.  The  steward  took 
up  his  tray  and  passed  on  to  the  operator's  door, 
where,  adroitly  balancing  on  one  foot,  he  tapped 
on  the  panel  with  the  other. 

The  door  opened,  and  this  time  the  white  glare 
of  the  electrie  lig^t  shone  along  the  wet  deck. 
The  man  at  the  rail,  twisting  his  head,  without 
any  betraying  movement  of  the  body,  succeeded 
in  getting  a  more  satisfactory  glimpse  of  the 
room. 

Behind  the  door  swung  a  curtain  of  soiled 
denim,  partly  withdrawn.  Squatting  on  a  can- 
vas camp-cfafiir  before  his  unpainted  work-table 
was  the  operator.  His  wireless  helmet-receiver, 
or  *'set,"  was  clasped  over  his  ears  and  held 
close  to  the  bent  head  by  a  chaplet  of  glimmering 
metal.  Against  each  *' receiver*'  the  operator 
pressed  a  white  handkerchief,  to  shut  away  out- 
side noises. 

His  face  was  lean,  dear-cut,  toudied  with 
vigour.  It  was  too  vital  and  youthful  in  textnre 
to  be  called  leathery,  though  it  was  sunburnt 
to  what  seemed  almost  a  coffee-colour,  contrast- 
ing strangely  with  the  ruddiness  of  the  open- 
weathered  ship's  officers  about  him.  He  had, 
too,  a  touch  of  the  ascetic  in  the  high  brow  and 
the  wide  dieek-bones,  his  leanness  of  jow^  giving 
one  the  impre8si<m  of  generous  reset  troirs  of 
energy  ^n^eedily  and  continuaBy  drained  by 


THE  SPABK  IN  THE  OAP  81 

some  ever-advwitiiriag  thint  for  activity, 
inough  his  eyes  wero  in^rtonaUy  stndioiu 

and  abstracted,  there  was  a  redeeming  line  or 
two  of  humour  about  the  mouth.   His  hands 
were  long  and  bony  and  slender,  with  some- 
thing persistently  scholar-like  about  them,  for 
aU  thdr  scarred  and  calloused  and  sinewed 
strragth.  This  impression  was  further  borne 
out  by  the  restless,  nncodrdinated,  and  at  times, 
ahnost  wolf-like  restlessness  of  the  spare  and 
nervous  body  as  he  passed  back  and  forth  in 
the  narrow  cabin.  There  seemed  something 
nnsubjugated  in  his  long  strides,  as  though  he 
and  his  great  length  of  limb  had  not  yet  grown 
used  to  eonfined  places.  This  sense  of  an 
achieved  repression  was  strengthened  by  the 
touch  of  audacity  about  the  wide  and  olear-se<». 
mg  eyes  as  he  circled  his  room  or  sat  sprawl- 
ingly  before  his  instruments— of  an  aodadtr 
tempered  with  intelligence. 

He  nodded  cheerfully  enough  to  the  steward, 
however,  at  the  sight  of  the  coflfee-cake  and  the 
■teaming  tea.  Then  he  turned  back  to  his  re- 
sponder.  The  steward,  leaving  his  tea  and  cake 
on  the  seat  of  a  broken-armed  steamer-chair 
went  on  his  way,  and  the  deck  was  again  da- 
sorted.  ^ 

*wll!^..*T/*  Princeton, 
ttw»t»  OaptalB  Tandel  once  more  demanded 


82       THE  8PABK  IN  THE  GAP 


from  the  bridge-gate.  It  was  plain  to  see  his 
feeling  for  the  new  operator  was  not  an  over- 
kindly  one. 

The  new  operator  showed  his  hetd  xoaid  cut 
corner  of  the  stateroom. 
"I»U  try  again  I" 

Once  more  came  the  hiss  and  rattle  and  crackle 
of  the  spark,  and  once  more  the  lean  and  sun- 
tanned face  appeared  round  a  comer  of  the 
stateroom. 

'*He's  busy  talking  to  the  navy-yardl" 

"To  what!" 

"To  the  navy-yard.** 

"What*d  he  tell  youT** 

The  new  orator  hesitated  for  a  moment  or 
two  before  answering.  His  singularly  quiet  eyes 
were  resting  on  Captain  YandePs  nose,  for  it 
was  a  remarkable  nose,  ftomething  betweoi  a 
cardinal  and  iD^igenta  colour,  stippled  with  the 
brighter  hues  i:  countless  lit^e  broken  veins. 

"He  told  me  to  shut  up,  and  cut  out!**  he 
answered  at  last,  editing  the  inte  (^Bcer*s 
blasphemy  out  of  the  message. 

The  passenger  in  the  raincoat  fell  to  pacing 
the  open  deck.  He  stopped  once  or  twice,  quite 
casually,  to  glance  in  at  the  wireless  a|q>aratus. 
Then,  seeing  that  the  operator  had  taken  off  his 
ear-phones  and  was  leaning  back  in  his  canvas 
chair,  giving  his  open  and  undivided  attention 


THE  SPARK  IN  THE  GAP 


88 


to  the  tea  and  coffee-cake,  the  stranger  came  to 
a  stop  and  leaned  c^mpuiionAbly  wgnimt  the 

jamb  of  the  open  door. 

The  young  man  glanced  np  at  the  huge  figure 
darktniog  his  cabin.  He  did  so  with  no  outward 
■ign  of  emotion.  He  had,  apparently,  become 
inured  to  the  wondering  tjm  of  the  pMieiigen, 
and  he  had  his  own  ends  to  pursue.  So  be  went 
on  with  his  coffee  cake  in  silence. 

"Could  you  take  those  messages  of  mine 
now!"  asked  the  man  in  the  raincoat. 

"Any  old  time  now,"  answered  the  operator, 
without  so  much  as  a  second  glance. 

"I  settle  for  it  with  you,  dont  If*'  asked  the 
stranger,  drawing  out  a  roll  of  bills.  The  for- 
midable dimensions  of  that  roll  were  loui  on  the 
man  bending  over  the  teacup 

"Leave  your  name  and  cabin  number,  and  pay 
the  purser.  They  don't  seem  to  trust  operators 
on  this  floating  palaeel  All  I  do  is  stamp  the 
time-check  on  the  message  and  send  it  out." 

He  took  the  two  messages,  stamped  tl»f»!n^  and 
read  them  aloud,  before  pencilling  the  number  of 
words  on  a  comer  of  each  sheet  and  stabbing 
it  on  his  ' 'send"  hook.  He  read,  perfunctorily : 

Varrbl,  sixty  Wall  Street.  New  York. 

Our  man  (m  board  XamtnianboondPiiOTtoLcioomUa.  Wire 
WadiiBgtott.  Win  hsv*  him  beldbjaitthoiltifle  to  await  in. 


84 


THE  SPABK  IN  THIS  OIF 


The  second  message  be  read  off  quit*  M  hasti- 
ly, and  with  equal  nonchalance  t 

DOOTOB  BnUIADO  MOKALM,  MobU*.  , 

Adviie  Oharleston  wireleM  lo  wUy  LamMtm  mmmmm 
bound  if  shipment  of  laundry  equipment  and  iteelttealeft 
Motile  for  OMkif  and  date  of  MUlng.     MioBAaL  Dcttt. 

The  stranger  waited  a  moment  at  the  door,  as 
though  expecting  some  farther  word  or  move- 
ment from  the  operator. 

But  the  man  of  the  key  was  already  busy  ovir 
his  ^'toiler."  So  the  stranger  in  th«  xalaflMt 
toriMd  away,  with  a  look  of  mild  eiaspmtion 
in  his  predaoeous  and  pnnled  little  eyes. 


OHAPTEB  in 


TBM  OMLL  noK  wmmn 

It  was  fonr  hours  later  that  the  man  in  the 
raincoat  reappeared  on  the  bridge  deck.  The 
night  was  thick,  and  McKinnon,  the  operator, 
wofieed  with  laa  coat  off  and  hi  ^oor  hooikied 
bMk  agii^  the  wall-platit. 

He  looked  i^  for  odgr  a  mtmmA  at  k»  «nr 
the  huge  ifignre  once  more  confronting  him,  Tbe 
stranger,  imrebi^fod  hgr  hit  irilmog,  i(e|ip(i(l 
calmly  inside. 

**  Anything  come  in  over  this  machinery  o* 
yonn  for  met"  he  inquired  as  he  took  out  a 
fligftr,  pmhod  hit  M  bMk  on  his  bead,  and 
struck  a  lig^t  Ht  epentor  lotktd  up  with 
his  habitually  abttracted  and  unseeiof  rtaxt. 

''What's  the  nameT''  ho  uM,  wmr  moro 
studying  his  * '  tuner. '  * 

The  other  was  indignantly  silent  for  a  mo- 
BMiit;  th^  he  laughed  a  little,  forgivingly. 
**1>aay,'*  h%  amwmi,  "Midiael  Duffy.'* 

opmitmr  shook  hit  head;  tbo  movmnt 


U      THE  CALL  FBOM  WUHOTO 


was  followed  laj  another  nuonte  or  two  of  si- 
lence. 

*'It  might  Ve  come  trnder  the  name  of  Cody, 
Bichard  Cody,"  explained  the  introder.  Some- 
thing in  the  yomiger  man's  smile  eansed  him  to 
add:  **Y<m  see,  that's  our  flnn  name,  Duffy 
ft  Cody." 

An  alias,  south  of  the  twentieth  parallel,  oft- 
en enough  carries  its  own  explanation.  The 
Laminian's  bow  was  pointing  towards  a  land  of 
patriots  where  a  change  of  name  only  too  of  t^ 
synchronised  with  a  change  of  eratinents.  Bnl 
MeKlnnim  merely  gave  a  shaha  of  the  head.  It 
was  several  minntes  before  he  glanced  abont  at 
the  other  man,  with  a  closeness  of  scrutiny  that 
might  have  been  impertinent  had  it  seemed  less 
frankly  impersonal. 

<* There's  nothing  in  for  passengers  this 
trip,"  he  announced  as  he  tamed  hade  to  his 
*'timer."  He  drammed  iat^tieBtij  on  the  ta- 
ble-edge for  a  moment  before  readjusting  his 
helmet-reoeiver.  But  the  huge-shouldered  in- 
truder was  not  to  be  so  easily  shaken  off. 

"Your  machine's  working,  isn't  it?"  he 
asked,  preoccupied  with  an  inspection  of  the 
end  of  his  cigar.  This  cigar  was  soft  and  thiek 
and  short,  like  his  own  fingers.  Despite  its  da^ 
and  balefal  ooloar,  he  kept  inhaling  and  expel- 
ling great  lungsfol  of  it  as  he  talked.  The 


THE  CALL  mou  mmcm  a 

operator  Mfy  r«gi8t«rt  the  mental  decision 

P^ed  their  languid  cloud.  ^ 
That  was  not  to  take  on  coffee  at  Pnprf« 

fl^self  of  this  mformation  casnaUy.  ahnoet 
witli  amusement,  though  his  halK^^^* 
were  not  unconsciou.  <rf  tha .ffeotBM*«Jfc! 
what  he  had  eaii  !««*><»«  by 

f  ^  him  on. 

thrji°°''  *^  wwradona  man  at 

tte  key,  seeming  to  draw  UAbOo  hii  of 
reb^ce.  "And  I'm  busy  sendinr" 

S^ri^"''  P«"iBted  the  othe"  Z 
^^11  imd  went  out  to  the  switch,  btadk 

8«rs  ^vered  over  the  starting-W  iSJir 
to  tte  same  pine  boS^Xv^Z' 

ioM«  «Bd  louder  as  th»  tovw  owMad 


38      THE  CALL  FBOM  WITHOUT 


farther  and  farther  down  on  the  contact-pins. 
It  sonnded  like  a  hive  of  bees  stirred  into  anger. 
The  stranger  peered  in  at  the  dynamo  under  the 
operating  table. 

''So  you're  talkingt"  he  monnnred  medita- 
tively, appredativdy. 

*  'How  long  wiU  you  be  in  oommuiieation  with 
themf "  he  went  on  after  a  seeond  or  two  of 
tiionght. 

The  other  raised  an  earphone  to  listen,  as 
the  question  was  repeated.  Then  he  turned  back 
and  bent  over  the  carborundum  tip  between  hie 
responder-points. 

"We're  never  really  out  of  touch  with  *em,  on 
this  run,"  he  retorted.  He  seemed  to  resent 
his  own  increasing  concessions  to  tiie  other's 
imperturbable  good-natnre. 

"You  mean  you  can  call  up  New  York  from 
the  Caribbean  f" 

The  operator  put  down  bit  earplioiies  and 
shook  out  his  small  eardboard  box  of  carbonm^ 
dum  fragments,  piddng  through  them  for  a 
fresh  piece  for  his  responder-points.  It  8e«ned 
apparent  enough,  to  the  patient-eyed  man  across 
the  cabin  from  him,  that  he  was  neither  friendly 
nor  unfriendly;  it  was  simply  that  he  was  busy. 

"No,  I  dont  mean  that,  exactly.  HewToriL 
never  works  south  of  Atlantie  Citf,  as  a  rote. 
He's  got  too  mndi  to  liancDe  iSbtm,  too  aai^ 


TBB  CAUL  mou  YnTEOVT  38 

Bhips  going  in  and  out.  But  New  York  can  re- 
lay to  Galilee  and  then  down  to  NF— that's  Nor- 
folk-and  from  there  on  to  Hatteras.  Then 
Uatteras  could  throw  a  message  over  to  Charles- 
ton, and  if  we're  depending  on  land  stations 
alone,  Charleston  can  relay  to  Savannah,  and 
then  Savannah  can  get  in  touch  with  the  naval 
station  at  Saint  Augustine." 

"And  then  where!"  asked  the  stranger,  lean- 
ing oadk  against  the  cabin  waU. 

"Then  Key  West  could  catch  it  up,  and  if 
there  wasn't  a  gnnboat  or  an  Atlas  mt  liner 
crawling  somewhere  around  Cuba,  why,  the 
navy  yard  at  Guantanamo  could  get  it  relayed 
over  to  Limon,  and  from  Limon,  in  decent 
^JB^er,  you'd  catch  the  navy  yard  operator 
«t  Urton.  And  if  the  night  was  clear,  you'd 
run  oBe  diance  la  a  himdred  of  waking  up  the 
Coooanut  Trail  aerial,  bdiind  Poerto  Lwan- 

There  was  a  moment  or  two  of  silence. 
Could  Puerto  Locombia  get  anything  out- 
side^a  passing  ship T  Kingston,  for  instanceT" 

^^!!^^S^^i  ^  wireless-it's  prohibit- 
ed  by  the  British  Oovernment" 

"Then  there's  New  Orleans,  on  a  pindi." 

"There's  too  much  map  between,"  ezidalned 
the  operator.  He  gatheied  his  bca  of  aeat- 
terea  carbonmdom. 


Ift     XHB  OAJUL  FBOM  WITHOUX 


*'Qneer,  isn't  it,  getting  words  on  a  tape  that 
way,  four  hundred  miles  oftV*  said  the  stran* 
ger.  He  somtolied  his  huge  head  in  a  sort  of 
mute  agtonishment,  as  he  surveyed  the  eriwnfal 
of  aiqfMuratoi. 

''We  doii*t  me  a  tape,"  the  oihn  eorreeted, 
waving  a  preoooopied  hand  toward  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  condenser  case.  "We're  De  Forest ! 
And  we  don't  olaim  to  talk  around  the  world 
yet." 

The  stranger  was  peering  contentedly  and 
aimlessly  about  the  crowded  little  cabin. 
"Where  the  devil  d'you  suppose  that  cruiser 
was  off  to  T"  he  next  inquired. 

"That's  what  Fve  been  trying  to  find  out" 

"They  all  carry  wiretossf "  asked  the  other 
M  he  sent  an  eihalatkm  of  pnngadt  cigar  smoke 
eeilingward. 

"Yes;  but  they're  not  aching  to  talk  just  yet. 
Wait  till  they've  been  lying  down  there  in  the 
heat  for  three  months.  They'll  be  calling  all 
night,  just  for  the  sake  of  seeing  something  do- 
ing with  a  ooherer  again.  They'll  kai-tow  to  a 
eoal-togy  jnst  to  pi^  up  a  serap  of  outside 
news," 

The  stranger,  who  seemed  well  satisfied  with 
what  he  had  learned,  remained  silent  for  a  mo- 
ment or  two. 


TBB  GALL  FBOM  WCrBODT  41 


**Bj  the  way,  could  you  take  a  mMsaga  for 

New  Orleans  to-night  f 

could  take  it  all  right,  if  you're  wiUisg  to 
prepay  land  charges." 

"ru  pay  anything  yon  say,  lo  long  aa  yon 
get  me  in  touch  with  my  people  there.  I  want 
to  ask  Jean  Carecbe,  at  the  St.  Charles,  just 
when  a  shipi9ent  of  oil  and  mill  a^*f^»ig  got  out 
of  that  port." 

"Wait  a  minute,  then,  until  I  get  Atlantic 
City  again.  You  can  be  writing  out  your  mes* 
lage  and  111  get  the  timendieek  on  it" 

MoKnnon  bent  over  his  table,  wilii  a  wrinkled 
brow,  and  started  to  "call."  As  he  cau^t  the 
lever-handle  of  the  huge  key  in  his  fingers  and 
worked  it  deliberately,  yet  slowly,  up  and  down 
— ^he  was  sending  "strong" — the  sudden  blue 
q[>]aA  of  flame  exploded  and  leaped  and 
hissed  across  the  spark-gap,  fnoi  one  braaa- 
knobbed  discharging-rod  to  the  other.  It  filed 
the  roughly  improvised  station  with  a  sound 
like  the  rattle  of  musketry.  The  ceiling  and 
walls  of  the  room,  crusted  with  many  paintings 
of  white  lead,  mirrored  and  refracted  the  pur- 
l^di-Uue  fladiea.  A  faint  iMsooic  odour,  not  un- 
lite  a  tnbliminated  aaeSl  of  briasloiie,  flilad  tlit 
air. 

The  operator  threw  off  his  switch  again  and 
listened  intently,  with  his  two  haudkawhiafi 


42      THE  CALL  FROM  WITHOTJT 


muffling  his  earphones.  Then  he  enddenl^ 
swung  about  and  looked  at  the  man  behind  him. 

"That  cruiser's  going  to  Cnlebra,  off  Porto 
Rico.  She's  ordered  south  on  aooonnt  of  the 
Locombian  trouble." 

''Yon  dcmt  mean  she's  going  to  mix  up  in 
that  messT"  the  intruder  cried  iriOk  a  note  of 
disgost. 

"No;  Atlantic  City  says  she's  just  going  to 
lie  there  and  wait  for  instmotioiit  fvom  Wash- 
ington." 

The  operator  turned  back  to  his  table  without 
apparently  notidng  the  interest  in  the  other 
man's  eyes.  He  sat  seoningly  detaehed  and  on- 
conscious  of  any  presence  in  tiie  room  except 
that  of  the  mysterious  spirit  whidi  came  a^ 
went  at  a  toudi  of  his  hand.  A  smile  began  to 
play  about  his  mouth  as  he  listened.  It  was 
held  there  in  suspension,  while  his  gaze  shifted 
from  side  to  side,  vivaciously,  in  response  to 
that  far-off  and  mysterious  voioe  that  was 
winging  its  invisible  way  across  so  mai^  miles 
of  rain-washed  sea  and  emptiness,  to  creep 
along  a  slender  thread  of  metal  into  Ms  dosed 
and  crowded  cabin. 

He  still  seemed  unconscious  of  the  mounting 
look  of  determination,  of  obdurate  belligerency, 
that  smouldered  up  into  the  square- jawed  face 
of  the  watching  stranger  as  his  eyes  travelled 


THE  GALL  FBOM  WITSCHTT  48 

fnm  a  wall  map  of  the  Caribbean  down  to  the 
braai  key,  and  then  baek  to  the  map  again. 

''Yon'd  think  our  Unde  Samnd  had  enoo^ 
troubles  without  trying  to  play  sehod-teo^tr 

to  those  dinky  little  fire-eaters  down  there,**  he 
meditatively  ventured  as  he  took  out  another 
of  his  black  Hondurian  cigars,  and  once  more 
fell  to  studying  the  map  of  the  Caribbean. 

The  operator,  bent  low  over  his  apparatus, 
did  not  deign  to  anawer  him. 


CHAPTER  17 


TBI  XAV  ON  BOABD 

"You've  made  this  trip  before!**  obsemd 
ibe  itnttger,  studying  the  man  befort  him  with 
the  same  calm  and  half -dosed  eyes  that  he  had 
bent  on  the  faded  wall-map.  He  seemed  as 
strangely  disturbed  by  his  companion's  note  of 
qniet  authority  as  he  was  by  his  incongruously 
sunburnt  face  and  his  unseemly  length  of  limb. 

"Never  on  this  tub!"  McKinnon  responded, 
with  a  contemptuous  side  glance  about  his 
itation. 

The  atranger  followed  that  glance  aa  it  circled 
the  crowded  and  disordered  room.  It  was  both 
a  sleeping-cabin  and  an  operating  office.  Under 
the  wide  shelf  that  supported  a  double  row  of 
Leyden  jars,  surmounted  in  turn  by  the  De  For- 
est helix,  was  the  operator's  narrow  berth.  To- 
ward the  foot  ot  this  berth,  below  the  condenser, 
itood  an  enameled  washbowl  and  a  litter  of 
tools.  Next  to  these  was  a  wooden-slatted  trunk, 
on  which  laj  a  dutter  of  recently  unpacked 

44 


THE  MAN  ON  BOARD  45 


dotiiing,  a  pair  ci  eanyasHSOVwed  dumbbelU,  a 
ahaving  wt,  aad  a  tin  box  of  photographa. 

Against  the  farther  wall,  half  way  to  the  door, 
and  directly  in  front  of  the  dynamo,  stood  a 
broken  steamer  chair.  In  front  of  it  was  the 
rongh  pine  table  at  which  the  operator  sat  and 
worked.  On  this  table  stood  the  tuning-box,  with 
ita  myaterioiis  rowa  of  nnmerala  along  the  fhroe 
alota  in  whioh  lever-heada  moved  bade  and  forth, 
the  great,  long-handled  despatching  instrument, 
like  a  Brobdingnagian  model  of  a  telegraph  key, 
and  the  delicately  mounted  little  responder,  the 
nerve  center  of  the  wireless  system.  Above 
this,  on  the  outside  wall,  stood  the  switchboard. 
It  waa  of  nnpainted  pine,  like  the  table.  Set 
in  it,  near  the  top,  waa  the  atarting-boz,  with 
its  broken  and  roughly  spliced  lever,  and  below 
it  the  switch-arm  itself,  standing  between  its 
two  protecting  fuses.  At  the  end  of  the  table 
was  the  faded  wall-map  of  the  Caribbean  and  a 
shallow  dothes-locker.  Above  this  was  tacked 
a  lithograph  of  a  atage  dancer,  pointing  with  a 
innk-aatined  toe  to  other  and  brighter  worUb. 
It  was  a  strange  medl^  of  the  obvious  and  the 
inscrutable^  of  the  eommonplaoe  and  the  niya- 
terious. 

'*How*d  you  get  aboard  this  tub,  anyway t*' 
the  stranger  suddenly  asked,  with  a  sympathetio 
wag  of  the  head. 


ft:  ^ 


46  THE  MAN  ON  BOABD 

''I  needed  fhe  moiMy.  Bat  I  nefrer  thought 
I'd  have  to  face  a  mess  like  thie."  And  the 
new  operator  disgustedly  waved  an  am  about 

the  room. 

The  stranger  was  meditatiydy  nibbing  his 
pendulous  chin. 

*'Ton  don't  like  the  work,  eht" 

''It's  good  enongh  when  yonVe  got  a  decent 
station.  But  this  room  isn't  fit  for  a  pig  to  live 
in  I  Look  at  that  box  of  a  sleeping-berth  I  It'e 
worse  than  a  coffin!  And  I'm  going  to  kick  a 
board  out  of  that  cabin  wall  if  they  don't  get 
a  ventilator  tube  in  here — it's  like  sleeping  in 
a  dough-box  I  And  look  at  that  bunged-np  tu- 
ner! And  that  operating-table,  that's  never  seen 
a  ooat  of  paint;  and  that  switchboard— nothing 
but  raw  pine  I  Why,  nine  of  the  connecters  in 
those  Leyden  jars  turned  out  to  be  broken,  after 
I'd  struck  this  place  at  noon.  I  had  to  patch 
them  up  with  all  the  washbowl  chains  from  the 
first  cabins  as  we  came  down  the  bay.  I  got 
on  to  that  dodge  aboard  the  Priw  Joachim," 

**8he'a  a  real  boat!"  interpolated  the  stran. 
ger. 

The  young  operator  was  wistfully  nodding 
his  head.  "They  carry  a  German  band,  and  an 
ice  machine,  and  free  beer  for  the  officers." 

"But  you  can  make  this  snug  enongh,"  the 
other  soothed. 


THE  MAN  ON  BOABD  47. 


"Snof  I  my,  thU  plMe  looktd  Ukt  a  bos 
stall  in  a  Ihrery  itaU*.  I  havtiit  eyen  gol  a 
tUence-room  or  an  amranoiaior  ooxmectmg  me 
with  the  bridge— I've  got  to  be  hollered  at  ilka 
a  sinker  cook  in  an  East  Side  beaneryl*' 

The  stranger  laughed.  It  was  altogether  a 
langh  of  sympathy.  But  his  meditative  eye  kept 
roving  about  the  stateroom. 

*'I  suppose  yonVe  seen  a  good  deal  of  Uia 
Southf   he  said  at  last 

*<A11  I  want  to,  thank  yon  I"  promptly  a&- 
gwered  MeKlnnon.  The  vigour  of  his  retort 
made  the  o&er  man  smile  again. 

"Yon  don't  like  it  down  there,  eht" 

The  operator,  who  had  slowly  adjusted  his 
caplike  receiving  apparatus,  performed  his  ha- 
bitual rite  of  lifting  the  'phone-receiver  from 
his  ear  to  catch  the  quration  as  it  was  repeated. 

'*Do  yov9**  demanded  the  oparator. 

Tha  stranger  did  not  answer  Uioqoeftion.  In- 
stead of  that  he  asked  another. 

"Why  don't  yon  keep  out  of  it,  tlieni"  There 
was  nothing,  apparently,  but  off-handed  good- 
nature in  the  query.  The  operator  laughed. 

"I  can't  aff  T-r:  to,*'  was  all  he  said,  though 
he  added  in  an  afterthought:  "Until  I  can  ge' 
at  tibe  woric  I  want" 

MeKinnon's  questioner  looked  re&eved.  Ba 


41         f!SB  MAV  OH  BQABD 


bteame  mor«  iighi-h«arted,  mort  auLV9fy  «^ 

"But  ft*fe  to  aMMcBf  mnteilMi-Mttif  aD 
IdDdt  ci  mmmmm  for     kMi  U  pMpii^"  ]» 

argued. 

"What's  8o  my  terious  about  it?"  the  man 
at  the  table  demaiuled.  "I  think  iff  oonfomul- 
edly  simple." 

"TIm  madiiiiery  is,  I  suppose,  waen  you  oft- 
cknteMi  it;  Imt  I  a^an  ik»  w^amg  up  in  Ite 
big  eventi,  iha  iBftHvr  Bo^  |»  M  iM  lit  dMa 
oflP." 

•*0h,  it*8  mostly  weather  reports  and  'swe«i> 
heart*  messages  and  captoHs  giving  diBtances 
and  saying  they're  coming  mto  port  or  passing 
Hl^it  or  wanting  wharf  room,  if  it  isn't  the 
Kavy  people  aaldnf  for  iiadny  papan  aai 
news  from  home." 

"But  think  what  a  swath  yo«  Mid  eat  wiHi 
wireless  if  you  wanted  to,"  pursued  fj»  oHmt 
in  his  placid  disregard  of  all  side  issues. 

"Met"  said  McKinnon,  turning  slowly  about. 

"I  mMn  as  a  side  Une,"  incerpoeed  the  stran- 
ger with  a  thrng.  Still  maim  MaKanon's  hht- 
ons  grey  ^yea  twept  tbe  §gan  ia  itnaiMr 
chair. 

"But  I  have  a  side  line,"  explain  d  the  oper- 
ator as  he  noted  the  other  man 'a  yaniod  (Mt 
resting  on  his  box  of  models. 


THE  MAN  UN  BAA^n 

"I  mean  fti^  wji  iHrt  aad  Bito^tf  Mfi 
il— iMiitter  yoQ  Mt  Itet.  Tk&l's  lh»  ««k  I 

mnt  to  get  at 

"Bnt  what  is  ''tt»'  was  the  other's  haJf-dilB- 
deni  inquiry.  li^s  ^  ick  of  interest  in  no  way 
•MBwd  to  depre&s  tL^  j{    ^  iv  man. 

*'It*t  my  wirelHt  tel^^ilK)!^  MiwBM  for  pilot- 
tela  and  flaet  mw^^nw  <^  yadit  f«ow  tfi^ 
tmriV  fr<M!fc  in  pnMs  il.  ir  instance,  there  ^ 
a  battl  <rr*Tig  oa  tfc  ole  hamper  of 
a '"r  ise  sjet  ' -owe  iwa  ai  w»  ^  have  to  do, 
With  Oil  woiii  °  to  run  a  wire  .  p  oa  an  oar 
awl  cat  Qo  t\    ja§i>mp  for  orders." 

"&it  «m  eikv  ftdki  for  getting  in  ahead 

**Wall,I(  nstlBiMBjoBtflttosiBaiAth^ 

rr  nopoly  •    i  stop  n^lty  overcharges.  * 
at  ,  it's  0       n  -arrangement  of  steel  reeds  ( 
nected         i  r  ceiver,  or  say  to  a  respon 
liketh?        Ji  .  the  table.  These  reeds  are  tuneu 
wak^  m&  the  tnmamitter-reeds— it  works 
m  1^  ^  «dl  tha  lair  of  «piioi[de  meimi- 

noticed,  as  he  went  on»  the  other'i  aeai> 

iMDi      '^^  grimace  at  the  poiysyllables. 

*         iis  is  all  Greek  to  yon,"  he  said,  with 
a  shou.der  kuovement  of  hnmorons  resignation. 
^  "No^  it  am%»»  protested  the  other.  "Goon." 


V- ' 


_  ^^^^^ 


50 


THE  MAN  ON  BOABD 


"ModelB  cost  money,  of  ooone,"  MeKhmon 
contmiMd  more  deUberatdy.  "I  have  to  go 
slow.  But  onoe  I  get  that  apparatus  when 
I  want  it  7oa*U  never  see  «ie  loath  of  Hatteras 

again." 

He  stopped,  and  waited  for  the  other  man  to 
speak. 

"It's  not  a  white  man's  ooontry/'  admitted 
the  stranger  with  a  nod  toward  the  Sonlk 
"The  only  good  thing  in  it's  the  mnlee." 

"We've  got  to  take  that  as  it  comes,"  McKin- 
non  said  with  an  nnlooked-for  placidity  of  tone. 
Then  he  leaned  back,  with  half -closed  eyes,  and 
linked  his  long  forefingers  together  behind  his 
head.  "Ton  see,  I  can  always  save  money  on 
a  ooaatwise  ran  like  this:  there's  no  way  of  get- 
ting rid  of  it" 

" WeU,  money's  worth  having  now  and  then," 
the  stranger  remarked  as  his  sagely  ruminative 
eye  fell  on  the  little  vaniiahed  box  that  held  the 
wireless  responder. 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment  or  two,  thongh 
MoEannon  watched  him  dosely  ont  of  his  half- 
shot  «yes.  Then  ilie  strsngiHr  swung  doiHy 
abont  and  tonched  the  operator  on  his  soiled 
shirt-sleeve.  McKinnon  felt  the  heavy  fiMeAn> 
ger  on  his  arm,  but  he  did  not  move. 

"See  here,"  said  the  stranger,  and  both  his 
Tdioe  and  his  expression  had  undergone  some 


THE  MAN  ON  BOABD  51 


qdck  and  pregnant  change,  "lee  hen;  d*yoa 
want  to  make  ten  times  what  yon  get  ont  of 
this  key-operating  business  f  D'you  want  to 
make  a  good  round  sum,  helping  me  ont  of  a 
hole!" 

The  Lamimam'8  operator  looked  closely  at  the 
man  who  had  invaded  his  cabin.  He  had  ap- 
parently been  afraid  of  some  such  nndntsurrent 
of  self-interest  in  the  other's  advances.  He 
seemed  to  possess  the  man  of  thought's  persist- 
ent horror  of  material  and  entangling  alUances ; 
he  seemed  to  feel  that  some  secret  web  of  in- 
Ttii^emait  had  been  woven  about  him. 

"How  c^ndd  /  help  yoa  out  of  a  holat"  he 
curtly  demanded. 

The  stranger  did  not  answer  at  once.  The 
other's  suddenly  aroused  suspicion  had  warned 
him  to  go  slow.  Instead  of  speaking  he  leaned 
back  in  the  steamer-chair  and  studied  his  com- 
panicm.  The  path  before  him  seemed  a  preca- 
rkm  one.  His  p«irs«d-np  lips  w<«kad  slowly 
in  and  out  as  he  sat  tfatrs  temporising.  Then 
was  something  suggestive  of  tibs  riBDiawit  in  his 
large  and  heavy  silence. 

"Could  we  talk  here — ^us  two,  man  to  mant" 
he  finally  asked,  with  a  look  at  the  door. 

"Of  coarse  we  can,"  the  operator  retorted, 
BtttM  bj  tiM  asitte  of  mystery  the  other  was 
ooojuing  iq>  lOmit  so  simple  a  sitBaticm.  This 


52  THE  MAN  ON  BOAED 


vagne  feeling  of  irritation  seemed  to  merge  into 
something  that  was  almost  anger  as  he  watched 
the  stranger  slowly  rise  to  his  feet  and  cross 
over  to  the  cabin  door,  held  back  against  the 
wall-plates  by  its  brass  hook.  He  lifted  the 
&ad  of  this  hook  on  his  toe  and  let  the  freed  door 
swing  shut  with  the  slow  dip  of  the  steamor's 
deck.  Then  he  niflaed  out  the  faded  denim  cur- 
tain and  came  back  and  sat  down.  The  two  men 
continued  to  look  at  each  other  guardedly. 

"IVe  got  a  hard  job  ahead  of  me,"  began 
ibd  intmcter,  smiing  to  feel  his  way  as  he  went. 
''A  hard  job— and  you're  the  only  man  on  tliia 
tMp  who  can  help  me  along." 

"Go  on,"  McKinnon  commanded  witt  an  init 
patient  reach  for  his  discarded  coat. 

"That's  just  it.  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  know 
how  to  go  on!"  the  other  explained.  He  gave 
vent  to  a  gattnral  laugh  of  uneasiness  and  sat 
■tn^g  his  poHhiloaa,  tuAey-ooek  throat 

The  operator,  drumming  on  his  |»ne  tidble- 
edge,  waited  in  silence.  The  other  man  was  also 
silent.  The  pulse  and  throb  of  the  "»giiwff  erept 
into  the  white-walled  cabin. 

"Well,"  said  McKinnon  with  a  significant 
l^aiioe  toward  his  large  and  authoritative  sil- 
w  wirteh.  The  ttrangor'i  eye,  following  him, 
passed  on  to  ibiB  k^-tew  tsod  tten  on  anlii 
teteh^iHzw. 


am  ICAK  ON  BOABD  63 


"Too  may  recall  that  yon  sent  a  couple  of 
messages  out  for  me  this  affeeraoofi,'' lie  ifaianj 
began. 

McKinnon  xeeaUed  the  Ut/k  of  tlie  two  da- 

Q)atche8. 

''Maybe  yon  happen  to  remember  the  word- 
ing of  those  two  particular  messages  f*' 

McKinnon,  with  wrinkled  brow,  tamed  to  his 
**s«id-liook."  He  foimd  the  two  sheets,  and 
straightened  than  oot  <m  his  knee.  Then  ha 
looked  up  to  say:  '*We  never  hold  these  thmfi 
in  onr  head,  you  know.  tWe  oaa%  any  moet 
than  a  wire  can." 

He  let  his  gaze  ran  over  the  sheets  of  paper 
before  him.  The  other  man  sat  watching  him 
asharsad.  Fbr jiistaiiMment,as]iemadeBota 
of  what  seemed  the  opwator's  halMorbeaiiBi^ 
half -cynical  indifference,  a  shadow  of  db^p- 
pointment  flitted  across  his  face,  typifying,  ap- 
parently, some  passing  regret  for  a  reconnais- 
sance at  last  recognised  as  unnecessary.  But  he 
pulled  himself  together  at  once,  as  though  de- 
temiiied  to  fsee  the  problem  immediately  be- 
f ofe  him. 

"Would  you  mind  reading  that  ftrst  despatdi 
ont  to  met"  he  asked  with  the  pUuad  airthof% 
of    prestidigitattur  sure  of  his  trick. 

"  l  ^Cinnon  rattled  through  the  message  at  a 
ath:  "yarrel,  sixty  WaU  Street,  New  York. 


54  THE  MAN  ON  BOARD 


Ooi  man  on  board  LomMtm,  bound  Pnerto  Lo- 

emnbia.  WireWadiington.  Will  bm  him  held 
by  anthoritiei  to  await  inatni^oBi.  Dxttft." 

The  operator  put  the  message  on  the  table 
and  calmly  weighted  it  with  his  carbonmdmn 
box.  The  other  man  suddenly  realised,  as  he 
made  note  of  McKinnon's  attitude  of  unmoved 
neutrality,  how  automatic  the  human  mind  can 
become;  how,  when  once  immersed  in  the  meth- 
od of  doing  a  thing,  it  can  lose  all  sense  of  the 
Hung  itMlf.  Tliemaaof  thekeybadMmiot]i> 
hiirMattyiiigof wordi tobe''MBi''  Bwit 
only  too  apparent  that  their  meaning  bad  et- 
Ci^ped  him. 

''I  suppose  IVe  got  to  explain  that,''  said 
the  stranger,  fondling  one  of  his  thick,  short  ci- 
gars in  his  thick,  short  fingers.  "You'll  no^ 
tioe  that  this  message  went  to  60  Wall  Street 
Yon  may  or  may  not  know  that  that's  the  Infor- 
mation BnrMm  <tf  tho  Conadidfttod  IMt  Con- 
cern. And  if  ymi*TO  knocked  about  tlio  BaasM 
Belt  long  enough  yoaVe  found  out  that  tboao 
people  just  about  oton  thoie  Uttlo  yam  wrfiwg 
republics  down  there." 

MoKinnon  noddea  as  a  sign  that  he  under- 
stood. 

^'TtnyVa  got  a  good  many  miUio&i  of  mon^ 
kfliGidiHE»itt  that  export  bnBineaao'tbnra.  And 


THE  MAN  ON  BOABD  55 


joa*T9  ddng  InifiiiMf  in  a  npoblio  liiai't 
baQt  OB  Iranets  yoaVe  got  to  watch  where 
jou*T9  waOdng.  It  means  that  youVe  got  to 
keep  your  ear  to  the  ground ;  see  that  yonr  gov- 
ernments are  stable,  I  mean;  and  yonr  marion- 
ettes in  their  nice  little  red  and  gold  nnif  orms 
ronning  smooth  and  true.  That's  why  they  re- 
tain a  big  man  lik^  Varrel  for  their  information 
bnrean — jnst  to  know  who's  poking  a  finger  into 
the  political  pie  down  there^  and  to  be  xeidj  im 
trooUe  wbm  it  Uova  up." 

It  was  aU  obvioiis  enoai^  to  Obb  BatniBg 
erator. 

^'.Well,  I*m  here  aeting  for  Varrel  and  the 
Consolidated  Fmit  people.  The  Looombian 
charge  d'affaires  at  Washington  tipped  onr 
office  off  some  five  weeks  ago  about  trouble 
ahead  in  Onariqni." 

<*Wb«re*e  Onariqnit''  qmetly  aakad  lieKlii- 

BOB. 

''Gnariqni's  their  capital — ^the  capital  of  Ii^ 
combia.  Since  we've  heard  that,  of  conrse, 
we've  been  co-nperating  with  the  department  at 
Washington,  keeping  an  eye  on  any  Locombian 
likely  to  be  interested  in  the  Guariqui  miz-np." 

MflKinacB  eonf eised  that  be  bad  knowa  of 
dele^vee  eagaged  in  the  pamiit  ef  i&ad- 
owisg  Latin- American  exltes. 


86         THE  IfAH  €»  BOUm 


**Aiid  it's  right  here  under  this  deck"— Duffy 
tapped  the  floor  with  his  heel  as  he  spoke— 
right  here  on  this  ship  o*  pours  that  we've  got 
GatUey^he  erne  mti  only  Ganleyr* 


OSAPTEE  T 


xn  mm  ov  nxuouB 

Thb  stranger  peered  across  the  cabin  at  the 
vnpertarbed  operator. 

"Wlio's  CMntaft"  mM  MainiHWii. 

TIm  Bum  in  Ihe  iteanm^-ciiair  let  his  astoii* 
ishment  explode  in  a  oeilingward  belch  of  smoke. 

"Ganley!  Why,  Ganley's  the  biggest  gmir 
nmner  doing  bnsuMM  in  the  Caribbean!" 

*  *  Qnn-mnner  t  *  * 

"Tes,  the  slickest  revolntion-maker  thai  ever 
shipped  carbines  and  taMkm  into  a  Late 
ABMrloMi  xepnUiel'* 

''He's  new  to  me,"  McEimieii  protested. 

"He's  the  man  who's  always  smelling  oat  a 
conntry  that's  looking  for  a  liberator.  And  he 
gets  a  rake-off  from  the  patriots  and  a  rake-off 
from  the  Birmingham  gon  people,  and  another 
nlMff  from  ^  Bitro4iiakeri.  Wl^ibe'itlw 
miai^'ebe«MgiiieeriBgiaeIjoeombiaaiip» 
liibf  lor  lie  iMt  leven  aeiiftet   Bui  aev 


58 


THE  WEB  OF  INTBIOUS 


w»Nr»  got  Um  food,  aad  gol  liim  i^Mft  iPi  waal 

him." 

''Then  what's  he  doing  on  a  ifteaxner  lik* 
thisf  Conldn't  he  lee  ha  was  going  to  be  cor- 
nered!" 

The  disposition  of  the  operator  was  not  alto- 
gether an  inflammable  one. 

''That's  just  the  point,  my  friend.  He 
conldn't  get  ont  of  Charleston  or  Mobile  or 
New  Orleans.  We  had  those  ports  watched.  So 
he  slipped  qnietly  np  to  New  York,  engaged  a 
pusage  on  Satnrdaj'a  Hamburg-American 
■tMUDor  for  0dm,  aacl  tlm  slipped  over  to  the 
Lamktkm  in  a  closeB  M  w&n  Bb  ffiongEl  wo 
weren't  keeping  tab  on  him.  But,  pdMwl  ymi 
know  all  this  already,  don't  yont" 

"Not  all  of  it,"  replied  McKinnon. 

"But  you  saw  that  yellow-skinned  man  who 
was  helped  aboard!  The  sick-looking  fellow 
with  the  SpaniiA  servant,  who  was  almost  car- 
ried np  from  tiut  cab  on  tho  wliarf 

MeKinnon  confessed  to  some  Tagao  tmom^ 
brance  of  the  incident. 

'  *  That  man  is  Ganley  I ' '  said  the  other.  ' '  And 
he's  under  this  deck,  down  there  in  cabin  four- 
teen, and  you'll  find  that  he's  going  to  stay  there 
utO  wo  al^  Into  Uie  roadstead  at  Puerto  Lo- 
ooodbia." 


THE  WEB  OP  INTRIGUE  59 

A  meditathrt  lOnM  flkd  Am  Htlto  wliilt- 

walled  cabin. 

"But  what  have  I  got  to  do  with  all  thist" 
McKinnon  at  last  demanded.  His  face  seemed 
to  carry  the  complaint  that  he  had  always  found 
dissension  on  shipboard  hard  to  endure;  it  wm 
new  eaty  to  get  awey  *roiii  diiturbwacee  in  a 
world  eo  Rnall,  or  to  pnt  hate  beWnd  one  in  a 
life  so  drcnmscribed.  Yet  he  smiled  a  httle, 
in  spite  of  himself.  A  ship,  he  had  somewhere 
heafQ,  mnst  be  either  a  heaven  or  a  hell.  The 
next  fortnight,  he  felt,  would  find  Uttle  of  the 
celestial  abont  the  Laminian, 

"That's  just  what  I'm  eoming  around  to^" 
tha  latmderwBf  saying  to  lum.  "This  Oanley, 
remember,  has  gotliia  'fenoes'  and  confederates 
and  small-fry  Helpers.  He  works  the  thing  thor- 
ough when  he  does  it.  And  as  likely  as  not,  be- 
tween here  and  Puerto  Locombia,  he's  going  to 
get  messages  sent  in  to  him,  or  he*8  going  to 
send  out  some  despatches  on  his  own  hook- 
so  as  to  ke^  in  toneh  with  hk  people.*' 

^e  sfarang«r  came  to  a  stop  a'^.d  sat  regard- 
ing Hhe  younger  man  as  though  he  looked  for 
some  word  of  euoonragement  or  comprehension 
from  him. 

"The  thing  I've  got  to  guard  against  most," 
the  stranger  who  called  Imnidf  Dniiy  eoaHa* 
.ned,  "is  the  department  at  WaahingtoB.  U 


m       TBE  WEB  OF  INTBIOITB 


they  sent  something  in,  and  it  got  ont  all  over 
the  ship,  it  wonld  be  likely  to  spoil  everything. " 

''But  it  won't  get  ont  all  over  the  ship,"  the 
opmitor  eometed. 

*'Ton'll  promise  me  fhatt"  ad»d  th«  othw 
with  a  look  of  relief. 

"Of  course  I'll  promiM  you  that— it's  part 
of  my  business." 

"But  there's  the  other  side  of  the  question," 
tha  ttranger  discreetly  continued.  "Ganley  is 
afanoflt  tore  to  be  loiding  or  receiving  some- 
thing. Why,  I  ahoiildnt  be  sorpriaed  if  7oa*v« 
been  handling  something  for  him  already*" 

The  operator  reached  out  for  his  message- 
hooks.  The  movement  was  merely  perfunctory, 
for  the  hooks  were  all  but  empty. 

"What  name  would  he  be  travelling  under t" 
McKinnon  looked  up  to  apk. 

"He's  booked  as  John  ffiebert,  cabin  fonr- 
teen,"  was  the  answer. 

The  man  in  the  steamer-chair  looked  relieved, 
but  only  for  a  moment,  when  he  learned  that 
nothing  had  come  or  gone. 

"Of  course  I  may  be  wrong  about  his  trying 
to  keep  in  tonch  with  those  people  of  his.  And 
it  may  happoi  the  d^rtment  w<»i*t  even  try 
to  have  him  held.  Perhaps  they  wont  do  any- 
thing until  we  get  him  ashore  at  Puerto  Locom- 
bia.  But  weVe  got  to  get  him  thw»-4t't 


THE  WEH  OF  INTBIGUE 


61 


last  ohanoe.  We've  worked  too  hard  on  this 
thing  not  to  see  it  pnt  through  to  a  flniah.*' 

"Andt"  asked  McKinnon,  waiting. 

"All  I  want  yon  to  do  is  to  keep  tab  on  any- 
thing that  comes  in  for  this  man  Ganley,  or 
about  him  and  his  tin-horn  warfare  down  there 
— and  on  anything  that's  to  go  out,  until  we 
kad." 

"Am  yon  aeting  offidaUyf*  if^TRmim^  da- 
manded,  with  a  stocied  towarda  iapar- 
ionality.  "I  mean,  are  yon  aeting  f or  tiia  d»> 

partment  at  Washington?" 

**I'm  acting  as  the  confidential  agent  of  the 
Consolidated  Fruit  people,  and  the  Consolidated 
Fruit  people  have  been  co-operating  with  the 
department  for  several  weeks  now." 

"And  you  simply  want  to  know  what  these 
meiiagea  aiel" 

"Tes,  tliat's  aU;  I  mean  tiyit*ii  all,  nleaa 
they're  of  such  a  nature  as  to  defeat  the  ends 
of  justice.  We  don't  want  anything  to  get 
through  that's  going  to  help  our  man  y|ip  awaj 
from  us." 

"Ton  mean  for  me  to  hold  back  everything 
tiiat  IwikM  snsineiona  nntil  yon  OJL  itf 

"And  couldnt  yon  do  that  if  I  ma^  it  wwik 
while  for  yout"  quietly  inquired  the  straagir. 

"How  do  yon  mam  wortli  wMlaf* 


62 


TH£  WEB  OF  INTBIQX7B 


**Wiif,  in  pqr  70B  foe  ymst  traabltk 

I'll  " 

Bat  McKixmon's  Beemingly  indignant  aUrt 
brought  the  older  man  to  a  stop. 

"You  don't  suppose  I'm  going  to  take  money 
to  hold  up  the  company's  businesat"  he  de- 
manded* 

l%a  atiiangar  ndaad  a  fUcky  fid  hand  i»olaat- 

ingly.  McKinnon  noticed  a  scar  in  the  centre 
of  the  wide  palm.  He  inajqpoaiteljr  wandiiad  if 
it  could  be  a  bullet  wound. 

"Hold  on  a  minute!"  he  warned  the  other, 
appeasingly.  "This  isn't  a  matter  0'  messen- 
ger-boy tips.  IfaovitndontlnidnaM.  TonVa 
ffol  to  imamAmr  1^*r9  Ing  ^nga  fa»rolf«d  in 
tins,  and  big  people,  too.'' 

"Why  do  you  want  to  mix  me  up  in  the  mess, 
whether  it's  big  or  little  T"  complained  the  oper- 
ator. The  other  man  permitted  the  proteat  to 
go  unanswered. 

"Bat  eant  70a  tall  ma  wluit  it'a  worth  for 
ycftt  to  eo-opaniit  na  in  tUaf  **  Im  UmBj 
insisted. 

"It  would  be  worth  my  job  I"  McKinnon 
cried.  The  other  man,  eyeing  him  closely,  could 
not  rid  himself  of  the  impression  that  the  oper- 
ator was  acting  a  part,  that  he  was  feigning  re- 
Inctance  for  aome  pot«i^itIfy  better  bargain  yat 
lobtdfifw. 


iHMt't  TOUT  iob  worOif "  hm  fl»«M» 

■T  MB'V  mUOBBMI  fgKBPf*  Mm  rnKKf  WKK9  IMP 

tti  vndvloBt  flf  MolHq^tB  Ills  gsfetefid^'^ 

tion. 

**0h,  it*8  not  what  the  job's  worth,"  protest- 
ed McKinnoii.  «Tt's  the  putting  outside  busi- 
ness before  the  business  I'm  paid  to  do.  It's 
tlM  aeting  against  regulations  and  getting  the 
•ippMy dtmn 6awn m m.  B'tttedotag of 
■omething  I'm  not  htn  to  do." 

"But  this  is  mert|y  >  mttif  bttwif  Bt  two, 
mn  to  man.  The  compa^f  4oeai*l  k«ft  tigr- 
tting  to  do  with  this." 

''They  own  this  jnnk,"  broke  out  the  oper- 
ator, with  a  wave  of  the  hand  that  designated 
tta  appanrtia  aiool  Wbl  "lad  tfaagr  abonl 
own  ma^  too^  M  kag  aa  I'm  «m  lirfr  pi^-ioD." 

"Of  course  they  do,"  tbf'  ^hcr  soothed  traa- 
qnilly.  "Bnt  yon're  here  :  i  i  uiey're  in  New 
Yor]^  and  you've  got  the  mi,^g  of  this  appa- 
ratus until  we  dock  at  Puerto  Locombia." 

The  operator  sat  looking  at  the  other  man  hi 
ailflHs^ 

"!Wi^,  yoo  told  aa  yoanelf,  a  §m  Hdniitaa 
ago,  that  your  nmiiinaij  iomu't  tkn^  wmA 
right  And  you  say  you  haven't  a  tape,  or  any* 
thing  that  registers  the  masai^pa  aa  tlMf  mtm 

to  you.  Isn't  that  rightt" 
The  o|)arator  nodded. 


M     tcHB  WBB  or  nimous 

"Tiica  why  couldn't  you  accidentally  miss  a 
iBMMfBf  Orwhyconldntyonsenditoutwith- 
OBt  b^iir  tm  that  it  was  gmng  to  aany  dear 
•cross  to  tlia  next  operator^* 

McKinnon  still  looked  at  the  other  man. 
There  was  something  so  placid  and  intimate 
about  the  tones  of  the  stranger's  voice  that  the 
▼ery  purport  of  his  suggestion  had  seemed 
fMud  of  ita  mnnity. 

"I  woa]dB*t  do  a  thing  like  that  for  live  hun- 
dred  doUarat"  the  operator  at  laat  dadared. 

The  stranger  looked  back  at  him  without  a 
move  of  his  great  body  in  the  steamer-chair.  Mo- 
Kinnon's  glance  of  open  contempt  in  nowiat 
dirlurbed  him. 

"I'll  give  you  one  thousand  dollars  if  yon 
doitr'haaaid.  ffia  voi^  was  quiet  and  casual 
aa  he  spoke,  but  again  the  uptnior  twm^  AotA 
and  peered  at  him.  He  opened  his  lips  to  reply, 
and  then  suddenly  became  silent  He  shifted  Ift 
his  chair,  as  though  to  draw  away  from  woam 
tangible  and  precipitating  temptation. 

"I'll  give  you  one  thousand  dollars,"  repeat- 
•d  tha  atnmgw,  "and  IH  promise  to  stand  be- 
tween  you  and  any  trouble  yoa'rt  afhdd  «f.»» 

"It's  not  what  I'kn  afraid  o^'*  tiia  othar 
torted. 

"Then  what  is  it!  You  fail  to  caich  a  mes- 
sage  or  two,  and  no  one's  the  wiaar.  ynmi  of 


THE  WEB  OF  INTBIGUE 


66 


thatf  Good  heavens,  man,  yon*re  not  doing 
anything  crooked  1  Nobody's  oat  a  throat  back 
there  in  New  York!  Nobody's  trying  to  get 
away  from  your  Centre  Street  people.  You're 
ael  doing  anything  againtl  tb«  p«iial  oodt." 

*'Wlgr  didn't  yon  go  to  tlw  oaptain  abool 
tidat"  oomplained  the  operator.  The  tacit  note 
of  concession  in  that  oomfklainl  did  not  mmp9 
hia  companion. 

"That  low-brow    he  gmnted  in  disgnst. 

"Being  a  low-brow,  as  yon  call  him,  ought  to 
nako  hiin  all  the  iwnior  to  handlo,"  n^KMtod 
MflKiBBon,  with  hit  short  and  pniBding  laagi. 
"And  ha's  still  the  mastor  of  the  ship." 

"The  captain  has  no  more  to  do  with  this 
than  De  Forest  himself  I  And  I  imagine  he'd 
rather  be  soaking  in  brandy  pawnees  than  talk- 
ing business  to  outsiders.  This  is  something 
bftwaen  ns  two.  You're  not  ofaeating  anybody. 
To«*ro  not  Inir^iy  a&ybody.  AH  yo«  do  is  t» 
hdp  me  win  a  big  case,  and  get  well  paid  for 
your  trouble.  And  a  twist  of  the  wrist  i3  what 
it  costs  you.  For  I'm  assuming,  of  course,  you 
can  put  that  machinery  of  yours  out  of  business 
for  the  time  being  without  exactly  showing 

"Tlii^*fe  aasy  aBCugfa,"  said  Hm  oparaior, 
irith  a  start  at.lda  appamtos.  '*Tlitrt  ava  • 
domi^nrB  of  Araviac  a  asanyKaalid  ^^BS  tta 


THE  WIS  OF  INtCBIQUS 


Oat  out  of  kilter.  It's  017  gtttteff  ooi  dP  Iflter 

with  the  fwrapmy  that  worries  me.*' 

''The  sompany  doesn't  count,  my  friend. 
They're  outsiders  in  this.  And  yon  get  yoor 
thousand  dollars  in  cold  cash,  to  work  on  that 
reed-disk  of  yours  for  half  a  year,  if  you  want 
to." 

MeKiBiMm  Ura^^  a  litfls;  Then  Im  gnm 
more  thoughtful,  and  was  about  to  speak,  when 
the  quick  tread  of  feet  sounded  on  the  deck  with- 
out. He  caught  up  the  'phone  "set"  hurriedly 
and  bent  over  the  pine  table.  The  steps  passed 
on,  but  the  betrayal  of  disingenuousness  re- 
Bialiitd  a  consolliig  and  obvious  fact  to  the  man 
ia  tha  steamar-elMir.  It  kft  Urn  no  koftr  ia 
doubt. 

He  reached  down  into  his  capadons  teBvasr 
pocket  and  produced  a  roll  of  treasury  notes, 
held  together  by  a  double  rubber  band.  He 
peeled  off  three  orange-tinted  twenty-dollar 
UUs  and  folded  them  neatly  across  the  middle, 
^"gthwise.  Tiwn,  with  equal  dsiflnriHiW,  h§ 
thrust  them  iote  MeKiaaoa's  stiU  ktlllliilf 
fingers.  The  operator  looked  dowa  at  fti  am^r 
doubtfully  and  then  up  at  the  stranger. 

"That's  just  a  trio  of  twenties  to  bind  the 
bargain,"  the  latter  explained.  "You've  got 
to  get  something  for  me  taking  i»  your  tiais 
liko  thii." 


ITHB  WSB  Of  IMmHUM  if 


''Bnt  how  are  yon  going  to  dear  me— I  mean 
haw  are  yon  going  to  make  thou  see  I  haven't 
htm  aeting  agalnat  ti»  ehip,  if  it  9mt  eomee 
to  •  iliGwcbwnf"  asked  tiie  operator,  not  so 
ranch  with  timidity,  bnt  more  as  thongh  he  took 
a  morbid  joy  in  teying  with  the  ilemtri  ot  the 
dtnation. 

"There'll  be  nothing  to  clear,  and  nothing  to 
show,"  the  other  retorted.  "All  you've  got  to 
do  la  to  have  a  hod  ear  when  a  eertirfB  ranaage 
or  two  happens  akog.  Bnt  111  go  fwHUm  tkaB 
that  just  to  pot  your  mind  at  rest.  To-morron^ 
when  I  pay  over  the  balance,  I'll  pnt  it  down 
on  paper,  with  my  name  to  it,  that  I  guarantee 
to  protect  yon.  We  can  both  sign  a  note  show- 
ing we're  acting  straight  and  where  we  stand. 
Tkea  yonll  have  me  tied  down  im  Wmek  md 
wUli.  ThtlaamaaQvafeMa^doeMHttt" 

"Ob,  it's  sqnart  Mwigh  M  suppose  this 
mam  Oaaley  comes  to  me  with  a  message  to  send 
ont.  I've  got  to  show  it  to  yon,  and  if  you  don't 
approve  of  it  I've  got  to  act  the  lie  that  the 
message  has  been  sent  and  keep  lying  to  him 
•vtrr  time  he  a«kg  me  abovt  it" 

Tm  older  man  laughed  a  little.  Then  he  rose 
heavily  to  bis  feet.  His  head  alaaost  too<^ed 
A»  fl^tHm    '"Jheiw'a  wok  dammue 


htll  ever  ask  about  it  And  when  you  know 
tiM  am  and  his  business  yoall  navtr  kfc  thinga 
iika  that  worry  yoo." 

"That  datoit  mmm  aa-^  Muff  a  gm- 
nmier/' 

"Well,  if  yoa  M  tiMit  way,  of  conrse,  yon 
could  send  the  message.  Only  you  might  send 
it  as  I  mentionedr-with  the  risk  of  falling  short, 
I  mean;  some  time  when  the  engine-room 
doesn't  happen  to  be  giving  yoa  ^pite  inimngh 
power.** 

The  operator  weighed  and  pondered  the  qoes- 
tloB.  TIm  man  beside  him  was  anarchistio 
MiwiUhfahfaMeala^eMkhMt  Ifi  nnng^iiil 
no  MthM%  tagpead  ^  ikmm  «f  apeteej. 
He  went  back  to  primal  and  feral  c<»diti<ma— 
went  back  to  them  wtik  4m9^t^^  Jinit 
neas  of  a  savage. 

"I'd  have  to  call  until  I  got  my  station/' 
temporised  the  operator,  '<and  the  other  fel- 
hm^  OJL  9ilm  Wd  got  my  call.  Then  he'd 
'O^  ateii^*  t»  liMr  ka  WM  fw^  to  I*, 
oeive,  and  if  I  Mid  to  rmA  him  Im^  http 
'coming  back'  for  me  to  repeat.  Then,  too,  wiiiil 
I  was  trying  to  send  might  be  picked  up  by  any 
stray  operator  behind  the  skyline.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  I  let  the  message  die,  after  getting  my 
•fn  iImi)'  signal,  the  thing  would  be  reported 


XH£  .WSB  OF  INIBtfinnB 


and  kMM  into.  And  that  would  bmui  troobto 

with  the  eompMj  when  I  got  back." 

''Then  when  yon  get  your  'go-ahead'  signal 
why  conldn't  yon  just  lay  low  and  complain 
that  your  receiver  or  coherer,  or  something,  was 
out  of  order — that  yon  were  cnt  off  from  reoeiv- 

iagf" 

'*I  hat*  to  lie  about  my  madiiiiery/'  retorted 
the  operator  with  what  wemed  a  Uiad  aad  fool- 
ish pride  in  his  tools. 

The  older  man's  curl  of  lip  showed  a  slowly 
mounting  dislike  for  further  argument.  Then 
he  lifted  his  wide  shonlden  with  a  movement  of 
reaignation. 

"Of  eouM^  I  dont  wwl  yoa  to  hm  ai^er 
your  job  or  your  Mlf-retpeoi  jut  beeame  my 
official  duty's  ben  aaldaf  me  abadow  a  man." 

The  wireless  operator  seemed  groping  abont 
for  an  answer  when  the  quietness  of  the  ship 
was  broken  by  a  sudden  sound.  It  was  the 
Lamkua»*a  foghorn,  hoarse  and  mournful 
tbrewgh  tbt  daifcaeei,  teariof  tiit  quiet  with 
ita  slowly  rtpeaied  ealL  The  two  bob  stood  side 
by  tide,  listening^  as  the  bats  noted  eomplaiat 
was  repeated. 

"We're  running  into  thick  weather,"  said  the 
operator,  turning  to  take  up  his  earphones.  The 
two  men,  immured  in  their  own  ends  and  aims, 
bad  loat  all  thought  of  time  and  environment 


70       THE  ynEB  01!  BnBUQUl 


A  moment  later  heavy  footsteps  sounded  on 
the  deck  and  the  captain  appeared  in  the  door- 
way. He  itood  in  tiie  narrow  opening^  red- 
BOMd,  gnome-like,  with  the  iMa  li|^  glislM- 
ing  on  his  waterpro<tfed  flgora. 

*'Are  yon  keeping  an  ear  open  for  everything 
in  there?''  he  demanded,  with  a  scowl  of  dis- 
approval at  the  man  beside  the  steamer-chair. 

''I'm  listening  for  anything,"  McEannon  an- 
twered,  with  the  "set**  over  his  head.  The  door 
shnt  again.  M^lnnon  tomMl  bade  to  tlit  lit- 
tered pine  table.  The  foghorn  sonnded  and 
grew  silent;  the  dynamo  purred  and  bnzzed  as 
the  starting4)oz  lever  erossed  down  on  tlie  oon- 
tact-pins. 

The  stranger  beside  the  steamer-chair  but- 
toned his  coat  Then  he  crossed  the  cabin  and 
tomed  badr  to  pe«r  at  tiw  operator,  tient  low 
over  his  table  as  lia  eaUsd  and  liirtinid,  and 
called  again. 

"So  I  can  connt  on  yon  in  thist"  he  asked  in 
his  qniet  and  reassuring  gattnral.  His  hand 
was  already  on  the  cabin  door-knob. 

"To  the  finish,"  answered  the  other  man 
pregnantly,  replacing  his  earphones  and  holding 
them  dosa  to  his  head  with  his  nndinff  bttdkar- 
diiaf^ 


CHAPTEB  VI 


TBI  uooHD  jwatm 

McKiNNON  was  oppressed  by  the  thonght  that 
the  hour  was  late  and  his  body  bone-tired.  But 
1m  did  not  okwe  oommn^tioB  wifii  Jtoyaf 
JfoH  operator  who  kid  "pkfced  lifaa  19" 
through  the  fog  until  lie  had  been  duly  wamtd 
of  heavy  weather  eeatheast  of  Hatteras. 
Through  the  night  came  also  the  news  that  one 
of  the  Royal  Mail  passengers,  an  American 
oonsnl  from  Aregua,  had  broken  his  thigh-bone 
egeiaet  •  batthead,  and  fl»  Lwmimem  mm  eitoi 
to  relay  tiie  newa  to  New  Yei^  Ihia  imint  a 
call  for  ambulance  and  doetof*  to  be  at  the  lawi. 
ing-wharf,  together  with  an  <ader  to  hum  a 
hospital-room  made  ready. 

So  the  key  was  kept  busy  again  while  the  be- 
neficent resources  of  science  were  being  mar- 
•halled  io  many  milei  away.  The  Lmmmm't 
operator  had  bidden  hia  far-off  fellow  wwrker 
a  sleepy  "good-night,"  and  was  still  itoopiaf 
afaeontly  o?tr  hit  toniag^boz— i^idi  bad  not 

ft 


n        tBB«X>»D  V] 


adapted  itself  to  the  thick-weather  work— when 
a  knock  wwnwied  on  his  cabin  doof • 
«*Ccjuie  int*' he  said,  liltinf  off  Us  MrphflMi 

with  a  little  sigh  of  mingled  weariness  and  rea- 
ignation.  He  suspected  that  his  undisclosed 
caller  was  a  junior  officer,  mack  given  to  gar- 
rulity. He  began  to  dread  the  thought  of  being 
kept  out  of  bed  for  another  hour  or  two. 

The  door  opened  slowlf  and  the  look  of  ttuk 
annojanoe  as  slowly  faded  from  the  operator's 
face,  for  standing  there,  confronting  him,  bttak- 
ing  in  the  strong  glare  of  his  aloelriei,  wm  a 
young  woman. 

Her  skirts,  gathered  up  in  one  hand,  and  held 
high  from  the  wet  deck,  showed  in  a  sweeping 
cascade  of  white  against  the  gloom  be^id  theoi. 
On  her  head  was  a  Mm  seagoing  cap,  twatlwd 
in  a  long,  eream-eoloarad  motor-veil.  BeUad 
her  stood  a  stewardess,  fat  and  untidy,  carry- 
ing a  cloak,  with  the  outward  and  studious  so- 
licitude of  a  servile  nature  exalted  by  the  oofi- 
sciousness  of  having  been  overti}  ped.  She 
would  have  made  an  ideal  figure,  the  operator 
felt,  for  the  nurse  of  the  Capidaks. 

McKinnon  put  down  his  'phone  and  rooe  from 
his  seat,  still  peering  at  the  figure  nearer  him, 
the  woman  in  the  doorway.  He  looked  at  her 
closely,  perhaps  too  closely,  for  he  had  not  im- 
agined any  snob  woman 


THS  SECOND  VISITQB  78 


Bt  asIM  tibii  ih«  WM  VMtfiiif  ft  gown  of  duk- 
Mat  pilot  eioth,  nd  ^  dit  wsi  younger  than 
he  had  at  ftrtt  supposed.  One  of  her  hands  had 
bean  thrown  out  to  the  door- jamb  to  steady  her 
against  the  roll  and  pitch  of  the  deck.  The  clear 
oval  of  her  face— and  it  seemed  more  the  matare 
and  thonghtfnl  face  of  a  woman  than  the  timid 
Md  hteitating  faet  of  a  girl— w>i  ibadoirad  «ad 
■oftMiftd  by  ft  crowning  mftis  <^  brown  hair. 
Her  teeth,  as  she  ventimd  her  sober  yet  oddly 
conciliating  smile,  impressed  him  as  being  very 
white  and  regular,  vaguely  hinting  at  a  bodily 
strength  which  the  softness  of  her  eyes,  at  a 
first  glance,  seemed  to  contradict.  Yet  these 
dcep-kahcd  qrea  were  ftlcrt  ftiid  alive  with  the 
iraa  of  iaUS^gmm,  mA  att  wide  ftpftvt  imder 
the  low  and  ttoaghtfnl  brow.  They  carried  fta 
inalienable  sense  of  wisdom  in  their  almost  an- 
stere  steadiness  of  outlook,  McKinnon  felt,  as 
the  woman  still  stood  in  the  doorway,  puckering 
her  face  a  little  at  the  strong  light  Yet  what 
most  imprened  him  was  the  sense  of  ebnQknt 
vifMNr,  of  ifttropld  ftod  ApriHfta  vitftlity,  iHiick 
brooded  about  her.  She  Wfts  by  bo  means  Ama- 
lonian  in  stature- -she  was  even  smaller  than 
he  had  at  first  suspected — but  she  gave  him  the 
impression  of  being  youthfally  and  buoyantly 
full-blooded. 
Then  she  stepped  heMSj  la  ftcreea  the  hi^ 


74        XHfi  SlCDilD  VBSITM 

idoor-iOl  aad  held  out  a  tinted  fonn-pad  tlM«l 
to  tilt  <qpeniler.  Mliflitoarij  porriaf  fluir- 
•rdeu,  at  a  gtatnra  inm  hu  biatftiBtor,  kid 

already  disappeared. 

"Ton  are  stili  sending,  are  you  notf"  asked 
the  yonng  woman,  stepping  still  nearer  the  oper- 
ating-table. 

Her  Toioe  betrayed  no  trace  of  foreign  origin, 
as  UeKhatm  bad  at  irst  expected  it  a^i^  Tbe 
speech  waa  that  of  a  wiril-grooaied  New  York 

girl,  the  type  of  girl  that  McKinnon  had  so  often 
noted  about  the  Fifth  Avenue  shops  and  the 
theatre  lobbies.  The  voice  was  the  New  York 
voice,  yet  with  a  difference.  It  was  the  slight- 
eat  and  thinnest  substratum  of  accent,  of  modu- 
lation, that  ma(to up  this  differtnoe.  Tetiado- 
ing  so  it  imparted  to  her  words  a  mild  and  ba- 
witching  gentleness  of  tone  that  seemed  to  hint 
at  some  indefinably  exotic  influence  of  education 
or  environment.  It  seemed  to  impart  to  her  the 
crisp  piquancy  of  the  Parisian,  persistently  yet 
mysteriously  accounting  for  her  birdlike  alert- 
nesa  of  poise  and  mormient,  for  aonie  eontiBii* 
ous  saggeeti<m  of  lehoolgirl  yoathfoIiMaa  that 
belied  her  actual  years.  It  seeired  to  convert 
what  he  had  at  first  accepted  as  andaeity  into 
fortitude  touched  with  discretion. 

''Then  you  are  sending,"  she  said,  as  though 
in  answer  to  her  own  question. 


KHB  SECOND  YISTTOB  75 


**l*m  Mid  IfflBiiiiioii,  baoking  away 

horn  the  ohair  tiUil  she  might  take  it  if  tha 
dMte.  "I*m  aoffj,  M  I"?*  joit  atonpid  lor 

the  night'* 

For  the  first  time  he  was  consdons  of  the  fact 
that  he  had  been  at  work  in  his  shirt-sleeves, 
and  that  these  sleeves  were  wofully  soiled.  H ) 
took  down  his  coat  and  struggled  into  it  Tht 
yonng  woman  notieod  tlia  mowMnt  gwlaMUj 
•ad  iiak  Into  tiia  oliair  ha  Ind  abamttrifft^  for 
kor« 

**Biit  oaa  yon  not  got  fcnnebodyf "  she  asked. 
Ttet  WM  ao  note  of  pliading.in  her  voice,  bnt 
the  mute  appeal  of  her  eyes  as  they  reated  on  hia 
made  him  suddenly  change  his  mind. 

''I've  been  having  trouble  with  that  tuner  of 
mine,"  he  explained.  "It's  rather  hard  for  us 
to  pick  up  anything  on  a  thiok  night  like  thia, 
yon  know.  But  I'll  try." 

She  bent  a  little  to  one  tide  ai  he  leanad  over 
tha  taUa  and  threw  down  the  iwitdi-tef«r.  Tbi&f 
wove  rida  by  aid^  ahsoat  toiBflfafaig  oftdi  oiflMr* 

<<Wbr  la  It  iModf "  aha  aikad. 

'*It'a  not  eaay  to  explain  wtthoot  bafaiif  lodi- 
aieal,  but  wirdoai  works  'heavy'  in  damp  weal^ 
er.  Yon  may  have  notiood  U  with  talaphoa«| 
tvan,  on  raiajr  daya." 


MICROCOPY  RESOLUTION  TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


76         XHE  SECOND  YISTFOB 

"Yes,  I  have,"  she  said  with  a  preoccupied 
nod,  turning  her  gaze  from  the  switch-lever  to 
McKinnon's  face. 

He  caught  the  key  in  his  fingers  and  the  blue 
spark  once  more  leaped  and  exploded  across  the 
spark-gap.  The  girl  watched  him  with  intent 
eyes  and  slightly  parted  lips  as  he  fitted  the 
*'set"  to  his  head  and  listened  with  the  'phones 
pressed  against  his  ears. 

McKinnon  was  keenly  conscious  of  her  pres- 
ence there  so  close  beside  him.  There  was  some- 
thing perversely  and  insidiously  exhilarating 
in  it.  It  made  him  forget  the  hour  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  bone-tired.  The  orderlylike  stew- 
ardess fluttering  about,  he  supposed,  somewhere 
beyond  the  closed  door,  alone  took  the  nmanoe 
out  of  a  visit  so  deliberatcfly  secret  He  turned 
to  his  key  again,  and  again  called  through  the 
night.  Then  he  adjusted  his  'phones  and  list- 
ened. He  finally  pat  down  his  **set,"  with  a 
shake  of  the  head. 

''I'm  afraid  we'll  have  to  wait  until  morn- 
ing," he  said. 

"I'm  sorry,"  she  answered,  with  her  atodi- 
ous  eyes  on  the  dandng-girl  lifhogmph  above 
the  faded  wall-map. 

"If  you'll  leave  the  message,  I'll  file  it,"  Mc- 
Kinnon explained,  to  hid9  his  resentmmt  at  the 


THE  SECOND  VISITOB  77 


half-derislTe  toaoh  that  had  crept  into  her 
glance. 

The  woman  handed  him  the  message-form, 
with  her  intent  eyes  now  on  his. 

"Must  I  pay  nowf  she  asked. 

**lt  will  be  charged  against  yonr  stateroom; 
the  parser  will  collect  it  before  you  land,"  ex- 
plained the  operator  as  he  jabbed  the  message 
on  hia  send-hook  with  a  bosinesslike  sweep  of 
the  hand. 

**BQt  yon  will  see  that  it's  sentf "  she  asked 
as  she  rose  to  her  feet. 

"It  will  be  off  before  you're  up,"  McKinnon 
answered,  watching  her  as  she  drew  the  heavy 
folds  of  her  veil  close  down  over  her  face.  She 
looked  back,  at  the  door,  with  a  timidly  anda- 
dons  nod  of  the  head.  The  next  m<mient  the 
door  dosed  and  she  was  gone. 

McKinnon,  still^consdons  of  the  subtle  fra- 
grance that  filled  the  room,  swung  about  to  his 
table.  He  paused  only  a  second  to  wonder  a 
little  at  this  faint  but  persistent  perfume  that 
seemed  to  have  charged  and  changed  the  very 
atmosphere  about  him.  Then  he  crossed  the 
caUn  and  reached  np  and  ripped  a  brightly  col- 
oured lithograph  from  the  wall,  bisecting  the 
terpsidiorean  figure  with  one  impatient  tear  of 
fba  paper. 


JCAMOROUGH  JOW^jtm 
PUmC  UBRARV 


78 


SECOND  VISITOE 


He  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room  for  a  mo- 
ment or  two  without  moving.  Tbm  he  crossed 
to  his  table^  reached  ont  to  the  seiid4io<d[,  and 
qnicUy  nnspeared  the  message. 

He  looked  at  it  for  several  moments.  Then 
he  passed  his  hands  over  his  tired  eyeB  and  re- 
read the  words.  They  were  addressed  to  En- 
rique Lnis  Carbo,  Locombian  Consulate,  New 
Orleans,  and  they  said: 

Am  on  board  LamintcM,  boonii  from  N0W  Tortc  to  Piufto 
LoocunUa.  AdviM  aaoemmxj  qioMrtan.  AucoA  fionmw. 

McKinnon  was  still  peering  down  at  the  mes- 
sage in  his  hand  when  he  was  startled  by  the 
sound  of  someone  at  his  door.  Even  before  lie 
could  restore  the  message  to  the  hook  his  door 

was  opened  and  as  quickly  closed  again. 

It  was  the  girl  who  had  just  left  him.  He 
noticed  that  she  held  one  hand  on  her  breast  and 
that  she  was  panting.  She  leaned  against  the 
jamb  for  a  minute  or  two,  as  though  weak  from 
frij^i 

'*What  is  itt"  fhe  openior  asked. 

*'0h,  it*s  nothing,"  she  faltered,  stmggling 
bravely  enough  to  regain  her  composure.  Her 
answer  was  not  altogether  convincing. 

''What  has  happened!"  persisted  the  star- 
tled operator. 


WBE  SECOND  yiSTTOB  79 


She  moved  away  from  the  door,  in  a  listening 
attitude. 

'*It  was  a  man,"  she  tried  to  explain,  inade- 
quately. *  *  He  frightened  me." 

"But  what  manf" 

"A  stranger — somebody  outside." 

"You  mean  that  he  dared  to  speak  to  you!" 

There  was  a  moment's  silence. 

"No,"  she  answered  in  her  low  vdoe.  "But 
it  was  the  shodc  of  seeing  him  so-hso  nnezpeot- 
edly." 

McKinnon  stepped  across  the  cabin  and  stood 
near  her.  His  efforts  to  catch  some  clearer 
glimpse  of  the  veiled  face  were  f ruitleds.  She 
reminded  him  of  a  ruffled  bird. 

"Won't  you  sit  down  until  you  feel  better!" 

"No^  no!  I  must  gol  It's  so  late!  I  must 
go!" 

But  she  still  hesitated. 
"Shall  I  take  yon  to  your  cabinf"  he  ven- 
tured. 

She  showed  actual  alarm  at  this. 

"Oh,  no;  that  is  out  of  the  question.  But  if 
yon  will  turn  down  your  lights  until  I  have 
slipped  away  " 

He  snapped  out  the  electrics.  He  could  hear 
her  in  the  darkness  quietly  opening  the  door. 
She  stood  there  looking  out  for  several  mo- 
ments.  "Good-night,"  she  whispered  grate- 


80         (CHE  SEGONB  VISTTOB 

fnlly  as  she  slipped  across  the  deck  and  wat 

gone. 

McKimum  stood  looking  after  her,  deep  in 
thought 


CHAPTER  Vn 


TBB  TANOLIMO  SKBXW 

It  was  early  the  next  moming  that  the  Lamm- 
tan  ran  into  a  cbastwise  gale  that  left  her  decks 
dear  of  passengers  and  her  funnels  white  with 
salt.  The  intermittent  crackle  of  *  *  static ' '  from 
the  hunming  aerials  kept  obliterating  the 
etherie  "splash''  of  the  Laminian's  low-pow- 
ered coils.  The  ship  was  left  inarticulate  and 
alone  on  her  course.  Beyond  the  Mrratlo 
"sneeze"  and  "congh"  of  the  atmospheric  elec- 
tricity there  was  no  answering  voice  within  Mc- 
Kinnon's  sternly  ddimited  radius  of  communi- 
cation. 

The  weather  distrjrbed  McEinnon  much  less 
than  did  his  own  state  of  mind.  Theday,whidi 
was  one  of  brain-fogging  intdiing  and  tossing 
about  his  cabin,  left  everything  connected  with 
the  night  before  still  in  suspense.  The  ship 
seeme<^  a  deserted  one.  Captain  Yandel  and  his 
officers  sat  alone  before  the  "racks"  of  the 
musty-odoured  tables,  between  musty-odoured 

SI 


82         THE  TANGLINO  SKEIN 


walls  that  outraged  the  nostrils  like  the  effla- 
vial  dampness  of  a  nighthawk's  cab.  No  one 
ventured  on  deck. 

McKinnon,  during  that  enforced  armistice, 
escaped  a  day  of  total  inaction  by  packing  away 
his  belongings.  That  task  acocnnplishec*  hb 
overhauled  his  helix  and  drafted  a  casi*  %  .or 
his  dynamo.  As  the  afternoon  deepen^^a  into 
evening,  and  the  wind  fell,  he  coerced  his  atten- 
tion on  his  Buhmkor£f-coil  models.  He  was  still 
studying  ove^'  his  reed-disk  apparatus  when  an 
unexpected  tap  sounded  on  his  door. 

Even  before  he  had  time  to  answer,  the  door 
itself  was  opened.  It  was  the  girl  in  the  pilot- 
doth  gown,  his  visitor  of  the  night  before.  She 
looked  hack  one  intent  mcMuent,  as  though  to 
make  sure  she  was  not  being  watched  or  fol- 
lowed. Then  she  quietly  closed  the  door  and  as 
quietly  slid  the  brass  bolt  that  stood  under  the 
knob,  locking  herself  in  the  cabin. 

She  smiled,  a  little  nervously  and  yet  spirit- 
edly, as  she  caught  sight  of  the  other's  con- 
cerned and  puzzled  face.  Then  her  own  face 
became  quite  sober.  Again  McKinnon  was  con- 
scious of  a  faint  perfume  pervading  the  place. 
It  seemed  as  finely  feminine  to  him  as  the  rust- 
ling of  skirts.  And  again  he  was  impressed  by 
the  ebullient  sense  of  buoyancy,  of  youthful 


THE  TANGLma  SKEIN  83 


vigonr,  which  persisted  about  her^  even  in  shad- 
ow, like  a  penmubra. 

"Could  I  speak  to  yout"  she  asked,  a  little 
disturbed  at  the  other's  continued  silence.  "I 
have  something  to  explain,"  she  continued, 
"something  in  which  you  might  help  me." 

The  flow  of  her  English  seemed  as  even,  and 
liquid  as  the  flow  of  a  river,  yet  there  still  re- 
mained that  pnzzling  and  piquant  nndereorrent 
of  the  exotic 

"You  do  not  mindt"  she  asked,  obviously 
puzzled  by  his  continued  aloofness.  It  was  plaiL 
that  she  was  not  a  woman  who  frequently  asked 
favours  of  men. 

"Of  course  I  don't  mind  I  It's  only  that  a 
visit  like  this  might  be  misconstrued———" 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  ambiguously  and 
sank  im  .  ^  steamer-diair.  McKinnon  dis- 
creet"^ ^  <tck  the  shutter  of  his  cabin  window. 
He  took  the  further  precaution  of  drawing  the 
faded  denim  curtain.  The  woman  watched  the 
operation  with  her  mild  and  meditative  gaze 
still  on  the  figure  before  her.  Then  she  mo- 
tioned for  him  to  sit  down.  She  noticed  his 
eyes  on  the  door,  apparently  in  apprehmision, 
and  she  smiled  a  Uttle.  Then  she  became  serious 
again  and  peered  studiously  about  the  room. 

'*7on  could  put  me  in  there!"  she  suggested, 


84         THE  TANQLD^a  SKBIN 


with  a  satirio  motion  towards  the  operator's 
doset-door. 

McKinnon  seemingly  took  har  qnery  in  good 

faith,  for  he  threw  open  the  door  and  peered 
inside.  His  troubled  look  returned  to  Him, 

"There  would  scarcely  be  room,"  he  ex- 
plained. *'It's  so  crowded  and  shallow,  yon 
see." 

"It  wonld  be  an  adyentnre,"  she  maintained, 
making  dne  allowance  for  his  lack  of  humour. 

He  could  see  that  she  was  wringing  some  inap- 
posite amusement  out  of  the  situation.  Tt  threw 
him  on  his  guard  for  a  moment,  but  only  for  a 
moment.  The  open  candour  of  her  glance  dis- 
armed his  abashed  suspicion. 

He  agreed  with  her  that  it  wonld  indeed  be 
an  adventure.  He  evea  langhed  at  the  tiiong^ 
of  it,  infected  a  little  by  her  spirit  of  quiet  au- 
dacity. Yet,  in  spite  of  himself,  as  he  let  his 
eyes  rest  on  hers,  there  remained  with  him  the 
stubborn  yet  vague  impression  that  her  pres- 
ence there  was  the  preamble  for  some  deeper 
and  undivulged  purpose.  The  seconds  length- 
ened themselves  into  a  minute,  and  still  neither 
spoke.  They  were  still  gazing  at  each  other 
when  the  sound  of  a  quick  step  on  the  deck  with- 
out fell  on  their  ears. 

The  woman  stood  up  with  a  little  gasp.  The 
look  on  her  face  changed  into  one  of  appeal  Mo- 


TBE  TAN6LINQ  SKEIN  16 


TDttDum,  ImpfMud  wi^  hu  f Mr,  alio  xote  ta 
hii  feet  They  oonld  hear  the  looM  cabin  door 

being  impatiently  shaken. 

"What  shall  I  dot*'  whispered  the  woman. 
The  operator  pointed  towards  his  clothes-closet. 
It  was  the  only  resource.  He  motioned  for  her 
to  step  into  it  as  he  himself  crossed  the  cabin 
towards  the  outer  door,  on  which  someone  was 
now  openly  and  impatiently  knocking. 

There  was  a  fleeting  rustle  of  drapery,  a 
warning  prearare  of  one  dender  finger  against 
tho  woman's  lips,  and  a  moment  later  she  had 
cKsappeared  into  her  place  of  hiding  and  had 
swung  back  the  door.  McKinnon,  as  soon  as 
he  saw  she  was  safe,  withdrew  his  bolt.  In  the 
frame  of  light  stood  the  great,  wide-shouldered 
figure  of  Duffy.  He  waited  there,  without  ad- 
vancing, for  several  seconds.  McKlnnon  could 
see  his  slowly  roving  eye  as  it  took  in  each  de- 
tail of  the  stateroom.  He  betrayed  no  sorpriae 
and  no  curiosity,  but  across  his  faoe  fiitted  a 
veiled  look  of  apprehension. 

"Are  you  alone t'*  he  asked. 

McKinnon  nodded. 

"BusyT"  he  next  demanded. 

The  single  word  bristled  with  something  more 
than  interrogation.  But  McESnnon  felt  that  he 
was  not  in  a  portion  to  resent  it  Be  stooped 


86         THE  TANOLINO  SKEIN 


over  the  last  of  his  wirelesB  models  aad  lifled 
the  box  back  against  the  closet  door. 

am  packing  away  my  stuff  for  the  night/* 
he  answered  as  he  turned  back  to  his  operating- 
table  and  caught  up  his  earphones.  His  action 
in  doing  so  was  simply  a  rite  of  xtpndiation. 
The  gestnie  was  not  lost  on  the  other  man. 

guess  yon're  hnsy  to-night,"  he  said;  "I 
won't  take  up  your  time.  All  I  wanted  was  to 
dose  up  that  agreement  of  ours." 

He  reached  into  his  pocket  and  drew  out  his 
roll  of  bills  placidly,  with  the  businesslike  un- 
eonoem  of  a  man  emtemptnoiis  of  small  trans- 
actions. He  ooonted  off  nine  hundred  and  forty 
dollars,  Tolded  them  together,  and  flung  them 
on  the  pine  table.  McKinnon,  all  tlie  while^  was 
thinking  of  the  half-shut  closet  door. 

'*That  puts  us  even,  doesn't  itf "  Duffy  said, 
backing  away  a  little.  His  movement  brought 
him  nearer  to  the  ever-menacing  door. 

MdSnnon  was  not  In  a  state  to  argne  it  out 
with  him.  1^  strangely  self-fmstrating  wish 
was  still  to  cry  everything  off.  But  he  was 
afraid  of  some  second  complication.  And  he 
had  his  own  reasons  why  these  should  not  arise. 

"Yes,  that  makes  us  even,"  he  admitted,  sud- 
denly remembering  he  had  a  witness  to  ma 
strange  business  in  hand.  The  intruder  stepped 
back  to  the  table  again. 


THlTAK€aJN0 


m 


"Then  we'll  both  sign  this  slip  of  paper,  so 
we'll  know  where  we  stand,"  he  suggested. 

After  Duffy  had  ponderously  signed  hii  name 
with  ft  beavy,  gold-banded  fountain-pen,  tiit  op- 
erator took  bit  plaoe.  ISia  paper  iecDiad  noth- 
ing more  than  a  reompt,  yot  lomotbing  about  ita 
wording  was  repugnant  to  him.  He  did  not 
take  time  to  analyse  his  feeling;  be  was  too 
oppressed  by  the  thought  of  the  woman  and  the 
near-by  door.  He  ventured  one  half-hearted 
objection,  however,  as  Duffy  thrust  the  pen  in 
his  hand. 

"I  can't  say  I  altogether  like  this,"  he  com- 
plained. 
**miy  not!" 

McEinnon  forced  ft  Urag^ 

''It  sounds  like  an  army  commission." 

**. Where  d'you  want  it  changed!"  Duffy  de- 
manded as  he  fell  to  pacing  the  cabin.  His  wan- 
dering threw  McEinnon  into  a  sudden  panic. 

"It's  not  the  wording— it's  th  i  igning  oi  a 
tiling  like  this." 

"Of  coorae  it  is,"  the  other  agreed,  mild  and 
indulging,  as  a  doctor  might  be  with  ft  peevish 
and  restless  patient.  "But  weren't  you  saying 
you  wanted  to  make  this  every-day  work  of 
yours  a  little  more  romantic  t" 

He  had  stopped  in  front  of  the  closet  door 


d8        THB  TANGLING  SKEIN 


and  was  apparently  studying  the  faded  map  of 
the  Caribbean.  The  position  was  perilous. 

**Where  do  I  signt"  demaxided  MoEimioii, 
bringing  the  other  man  back  to  his  side  at  tiie 
table. 

The  ink  was  scarcely  dry  on  the  paper  before 
a  change  crept  into  Duffy's  manner.  He  seemed 
more  sure  of  himself,  more  consdons  of  mastery 
over  an  ally,  who,  if  a  reluctant  one,  was  still 
an  ally. 

He  folded  the  receipt  and  dropped  it  into  his 
leather  wallet.  Then  he  placed  the  wallet  in 
his  breast  pocket;  his  movements  were  always 
ponderous  and  deliberative. 

**Bem6mber,  this  means  a  devil  of  a  lot  to 
me.  I'll  have  to  depend  on  yon  to  do  the  ri|^t 
thing  when  the  time  comes." 

<<It's  not  that  bad,  is  it?"  the  operator  asked, 
still  with  an  effort  at  humour. 

''It  may  be  as  bad  as  either  of  us  could  im- 
agine," Duffy  retorted. 

"If  that's  the  way  it'a  shainng  I'd  better 
draw  out  of  it." 

McKinnon  seemed  more  and  more  resentfol 
of  the  other's  attitude  of  masterfulness. 

Duffy  slowly  tapped  the  pocket  which  held 
his  wallet. 

''It's  too  late  for  you  to  draw  out  of  it,"  he 


THE  T^ANQLINQ  SKEIN  » 


dedared  with  heat.  Then  his  monntiiig  ting* 
of  anger  went  suddenly  out  of  his  face. 

"Pshaw I  what're  we  squabbling  about,  any- 
way?" he  cried.  "We're  both  making  easy 
money  ont  of  this,  and  that's  an  end  of  it.  We  'U 
have  time  to  talk  later  on.  And  I  guess  you're 
Imsy  to-night." 

There  was  a  veiled  tone  of  mockery  in  his 
voice  that  seemed  to  leave  McKinnon  a  little 
troubled.  He  followed  his  visitor  to  the  state- 
Toom  door  in  silence. 

"We'll  pull  together,"  assuaged  Duffy  large- 
Ijt  loavely,  as  he  stepped  out  on  the  deck. 
''We've  got  to,  ehf "  He  laughed  a  Utile  as  he 
taid  "Good-night" 

"Good-night,"  answered  the  operator. 

The  stateroom  door  had  scarcely  closed  be- 
fore the  woman  had  pushed  aside  the  model-case 
and  was  out  of  her  hiding-place.  Her  face  had 
lost  its  last  vestige  of  colour. 

"Oh  I"  she  eried  pantingly,  and  nothing  more. 

"Hnshr*  said  the  alarmed  operator,  listoi- 
ing  at  the  closed  door. 

She  stood  there,  breathing  hard,  with  her 
hand  on  her  breast.  Her  attitude  reminded  him 
of  the  night  before,  when  she  had  so  suddenly 
and  disturbingly  stepped  back  into  his  cabin. 

"What  is  itt" 

**Thai  mml"  XbB  woman  ezolaimed.  She 


90         THE  TANGLING  SKEIN 


looked  older  now  under  fhe  trying  wliite  li|^t 
of  the  electrics.  Her  aura  of  belated  youth  had 

in  some  way  fallen  away  from  her.  "Madre  de 
DiosI  Do  you  know  who  that  man  is!" 

''He's  an  agent  named  DnSj,^*  explained  Mo- 
Kinnon. 

"Duffy!" 

''Yes— he  is  acting  for  the  information  bu- 
reau of  the  Consolidated  Fmit  Concern." 

He  was  about  to  say  more,  but  on  second 
thoughts  he  kept  silent. 

''Duffy!"  once  more  cried  the  woman  in  de- 
rision, "Duffy!" 

Then  she  drew  herself  up  and  gazed  at  her 
companion  with  what  seemed  a  look  of  mingled 
wonder  and  contempt  wrinkling  her  low,  idiite 
brow. 

"And  you  two  are  working  together f"  she 

murmured. 
"Yes,  in  a  way." 

"But  how!"  she  demanded.  "How  are  you 
acting  with  him!" 

Her  alarm  did  not  seem  to  disconcert  him. 

"It's  not  exactly  a  partnership.  He's  simply 
shadowing  a  man  on  this  boat.  IVe  promised 
to  help  him  out  when  the  time  craoes." 

"How  help  him  out!" 

"Only  in  a  trivial  way." 

"But  how!" 


THE  TANGUNG  SKEIK  «1 


m:is 


"If  yon  nniBt  know,  hj^  holding  back  oertain 
despatolies." 
**Bat  whose  despatdiesf "  still  demanded  tlie 

woman. 

"Despatches  for  the  man  li^'s  shadowing,  of 
conrse." 

"But  still  you  don't  tell  me  who  this  man  is !" 
cried  fhe  impatient  wixnan.  MoEannon  obvi- 
oQsIy  found  it  hard  to  fathom  the  source  of  her 
anxieties. 

"I  mean  this  man  called  Ganley,"  he  ex- 
plained, concealing  his  growing  impatience. 

"Ganleyl"  echoed  the  woman. 

"Yes,  Ganley,"  retorted  the  other.  He  no- 
ticed that  her  breath  was  coming  in  short  gasps 
by  this  time  and  that  her  face  was  as  'vi^te  as 
his  cabin  walls. 

"Ganleyl"  she  cried.  "Why,  the  man  who 
went  out  of  this  cabin  five  mimtes  ago  is  Qan- 


CHAPTER  Vni 


TBI  PAWV  Ain>  ZHB  BOABD 

There  was  a  silence  of  several  seconds. 

**That  man  was  Ganleyt"  foolishly  repeated 
the  operator.  His  eyes,  as  he  peered  bade  at 
the  woman,  were  almost  vacaoiis.  He  ttocBed 
her  face,  perplexed  and  tmcertain,  like  a  trav- 
eler studying  a  road-map.  He  had  expected 
snrprises,  he  had  prepar  .d  himself  for  emergen- 
cies ;  hut  this,  apparently,  was  more  than  he  had 
counted  on. 

The  frightened-eyed  woman  still  oonfronted 
him,  her  face  seeming  one  of  pity  touched  with 
fear.  When  she  next  moved,  her  gesture  was 
ahnost  that  of  a  person  wringing  their  hands. 

"And  you  have  promised  to  act  with  this 
manf "  she  little  more  than  whispered. 

"But  he  came  to  me  as  a  man  named  Duffy, 
the  man  who*s  got  to  turn  Ganley  over  to  the 
anthorities  at  Puerto  Looomlna." 

Still  again  the  woman*!  wide  and  igitpag  9fm 
rested  on  hit  face. 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  98 

^*They  are  making  a  tool  of  you,"  was  all  she 
sai^ 
"Of  mot" 

"0!  you!   They  an  dooebiag  yon— 4h8y 

mean  to  make  nse  of  yoo." 
"Bnt  how?" 

The  woman  remained  silent.  MoKinnon  stood 
before  her,  lost  in  a  moment  of  troubled  thought, 
puzzled  as  to  how  mudi  he  shou.¥  say  and  how 
much  it  would  be  best  to  leaye  miaaid. 

"But  who  are  youf**  he  suddenly  dananded, 
noting  her  quick  glance  down  at  her  little  jew- 
elled watch.  He  felt,  as  she  stood  there  <^m- 
polling  herself  to  calmness,  that  there  was  some- 
thing epochal  in  thb  moment,  that  in  some  way 
the  uncomprehended  was  about  to  reveal  itself. 

He  tuned  slowly  about  and  idoeked  the  cabin 
door.  Then  he  sat  down  opposite  the  brok«i 
steamer-chair  in  which  she  was  already  seatixL 

"You  want  to  know  who  that  man  ist*'  she 
said  at  last,  perplexed  a  little  by  his  sudden  de- 
cisiveness, disturbed  by  the  hardening  of  his 
face. 

"I  want  to  know  who  $f<m  are." 
"That  will  oome  later,"  she  explained. 

McKinnon  studied  her  face,  line  by  line,  from 
the  pale  ivory  of  her  dark-browed  Torehead  to 
the  tender  curve  of  her  almost  statuelike  chin, 
for  the  shadowy  and  thiok-planted  lashes  did 


I 


M 


H     THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOARD 

not  lift  from  her  cheek  imtil  ahe  began  to  spfiik 
again. 

"Ton  want  me  to  explain  everythingt'^  she 

asked. 

"Everything  I'» 

"The  man  who  was  in  this  room  is  Kaiser 
Ganley — ^King-maker  Qanley  they  call  him  ev- 
erywhere south  of  Gnatemala.  His  bnsiness  is 
to  make  revolutions.  He  has  agents  in  afanost 
every  one  of  thd  Central  American  republics, 
in  New  York,  in  Cuba,  in  New  Orleans — every- 
where. iWhen  he  sees  signs  of  unrest  he  sends 
a  man  to  strike  a  bargain  with  the  enemies  of 
the  government.  He  waits  like  a  buzzard  on  a 
housetop  until  his  meal  is  ready.  Then  he  is 
given  money,  and  he  brings  so  many  men  and 
so  many  carbines,  and  so  many  mules  and  mar 
chine  gmis.  Sometimes  it's  for  the  patriots, 
sometimes  it's  for  railway  charters  or  for  mine 
rir^ts.  Sometimes  it's  for  rubber  and  colFee 
concessions.  A  more  conciliatory  man  must  be 
made  dictator,  or  a  more  dependable  friend 
must  be  set  up  as  president  9%at'8  the  way  lie 
won  the  Caqueta  Asphalt  oinioessicm ;  that's  idiy 
he  never  dares  land  in  Braiil  or  be  seen  la 
Venezuela  again." 
She  paused  for  a  moment.  Then  she  added: 
"And  now  he  has  the  rebellion  in  Locombia. 
The  Locombian  president  has  been  called  the 


V 


Its-  4"*  S:  • 


\ 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  95 

*Frieiicl  of  Foragnen';  lie  has  been  good  to  the 
Awtericanoa,  HeiimodernaiidprogreBiiyejlie 

is  " 

"Are  you  a  Locombiant** 

"I  am  not  a  Locombian,"  answered  the  wom- 
an, after  the  slightest  panse,  "but  I  have  my  in- 
terests in  that  country.  Oh,  believe  me,  I  know 
thii  man  to  be  its  enemy.  He  is  fighting  teat 
the  downfall  of  its  government.  His  plan  is 
made.  He  is  only  waiting  for  the  end.  Now, 
to-night,  while  we  sit  here,  his  men — deluded 
peons  and  beachcombers  and  paid  mercenaries 
— are  drawing  up  closer  and  closer  on  Guariqui. 
They  are  to  wait  there;  they  are  to  be  moved, 
Hke  wooden  pawns  on  a  chessboard,  when  he 
orders  it,  and  in  the  manner  he  orders." 

*  *  Can't  you  tell  me  how  or  whenf  Can't  you 
be  more  specific!" 

"On  the  thirteenth  of  the  month  a  revolution- 
ist, wearing  the  uniform  of  the  government,  is 
to  assault  an  American  citizen  in  the  Prado  of 
Puerto  Looombia.  A  Mobile  ore-boat  is  to  take 
the  assanlter  on  board  opoily.  He  is  to  be 
dragged  ashore  again  by  government  officers. 
Boof -tiles  are  to  be  flung  down  on  these  officers 
as  they  pass  through  the  town.  Arrests,  of 
course,  will  follow.  That  will  arouse  the  peo- 
ple—they are  so  foolish  in  their  hate  for  the 
AmerieOHOsl  And  while  this  is  going  on,  many 


96    THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOAED 


miles  np  the  coast  machine  guns  will  be  landed, 
and  tubs  of  cartridgesy  and  two  thomnd  li- 
fles.'» 

**But  how  do  you  know  all  thist** 
"It  became  my  duty  to  know  it," 
"But  why  t" 

"Because  my  brother  is  Artaro  Boynton,  the 
Looombian  minister  of  war/'  she  answered,  aft^ 

er  a  moment's  silence. 

McKinnon  gazed  at  her  in  a  mingling  of  won- 
der and  perplexity. 

"Is  he  a  Locombianf " 

"No." 

"Then  why  the  Arturo!" 
"That  was  a  concession  to  local  prejudices,*' 
she  answered,  after  still  another  momait's 

pause. 

"But  why  such  concessions T  You  see,  you  11 
have  to  be  perfectly  frank  with  me." 

She  smiled  a  little.  It  was  not  a  smile  of  con- 
descension, for  her  earnest  eyes  were  almost 
deprecative  as  she  looked  at  him. 

"That  will  mean  a  sad  lot  of  family  history," 
she  said  with  a  little  shrug,  as  exotic,  almost, 
as  the  Southern  inflection  of  her  voice. 

He  laughed  a  little,  too,  for  all  the  anxiety 
that  was  weighing  on  him. 

"But  you  see  we  have  to  understand  each 
other's  position  in  this." 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  97 


*'M7  brother  went  to  Onariqni  Mren  years 
ago,"  the  said,  quite  sober  bj  this  time.  **B» 
was  oompelled  to  go  there  to  look  after  my 
father's  nitrate  claims.*' 

"Your  father,  then,  was  an  American!"  in- 
terrupted McKinnon.  He  felt  glad,  in  some 
Tague  Tay,  as  he  saw  her  head-shake  of  assent. 

"He  was  an  American  soldier,"  she  said,  and 
MeE[innon  noticed  the  almost  phospboresoeiit 
kindling  of  her  eyes  as  she  uttered  the  words. 

"Yes,"  he  responded  encouragingly. 

"We  are — or,  rather,  we  used  to  be  the  New 
Orleans  Boyntons, ' '  she  answered.  * '  But  father 
had  interests  in  Argentina,  cattle  lands  and 
things,  and  property  in  3elgrano,  where  the 
Englirii-speaking  colony  is,  just  outside  Bmniot 
Ayres.  So  for  nine  years  Buenos  Ayres  was 
our  home — ^if  you  could  say  we  ever  had  a  home. 
But  as  I  wanted  to  tell  you,  my  brother  Arturo 
was  a  mining  engineer.  I  think,  too,  he  had  a 
good  deal  of  father  *s  spirit  of  adventure.  He 
saw  great  chances  in  Locombia,  but  what  was 
more  important,  he  found  that  the  altitude  of 
Ouariqui  agreed  with  him.  So  he  stayed  on 
and  on,  and  kept  working  harder  and  harder, 
and  getting  newer  interests,  until  finally  he  un- 
dertook to  work  the  abandoned  government 
mines  with  Doctor  Duran.  They  were  copper 
mines." 


96    THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD 


«Do  yon  mean  Dnran  the  prMidentf " 

*  *  Tea ;  but  that  was  bef  <»•  lie  liad  bean  mada 
prerident  Indeed,  ivben  Doran  ftnt  aotfyelj 
entered  Looombian  poUtioa  be  perraaded  my 
brother  to  join  him.  I  was  at  school  then,  in 
France— bnt  I  know  that  when  their  party  came 
into  power  my  brother  found  himself  in  Duran's 
cabinet,  as  minister  of  war." 

"And  you  are  going  down  there  to  face  all 
this!"  McKinnon  asked,  with  a  vaguely  com- 
prehensive wave  of  the  arm. 

The  woman  said  "Yes."  She  looked,  for  all 
her  inalienable  aura  of  vitality,  very  slender, 
and  nnsnited  to  the  ways  of  war,  above  all 
things,  to  the  ways  of  Latin-American  guerilla 
war. 

"But  that  seems  as  brutal,  as  unthinkable,  as 
a  girl  going  into  a  ring  with  two  r  nze-fighters," 
he  tried  to  explain  to  her, 

"Yes,  I  know;  but  I'm  not  going  into  the 
ring,"  she  answered.  "All  I  can  do  is  hover 
abont  the  ontside  edges  of  it,  and  do  what  I  can 
when  I  know  there  is  underhand  work,  when 
there  is  foul  play  like  this  g<ang  on." 

"Foul  play  like  vhat!" 

"Like  this!'*  she  averred,  tapping  the  dock 
with  her  shoe-heel. 

**Po  you  mean  the  Lammianf  Or  do  you 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  99 


mean  oortein  ptnoot  wbo  axt  ob  tiM  LamiM 

ianf" 
•'Both,"  sle  retorted. 

"Then  that  brings  us  to  the  question  of  jnst 
why  you  are  going  back  to  Locombia  in  snch 
a  way  and  at  sach  a  time,*'  MoKinnon  patiently 
indeed. 

"Bnt  Gnaxiqiii  is  my  home— it  is  the  only 
home  I  have,  now."  She  noticed  the  fleeting 
look  of  concern,  that  amounted  to  anxiety,  over- 
spreading his  face,  and  she  hastened  to  add, 
with  her  slow  and  almost  mournful  smile :  ''Yon 
know,  they  often  speak  of  it  as  the  Paris  of 
America !  We  dont  aetnally  tattoo  each  other 
down  there!  And  there's  something  appealing 
in  the  life,  when  yonVe  got  used  to  it— the  stir 
and  colour  and  romance  and  movement  of  it 
all." 

"But  you  see  you  haven't  yet  quite  explained 
why  yon  are  going  back  to  Locombia. ' ' 

Her  deep  and  troubled  eyes  seemed  to  be 
wrighing  1dm;  she  seemed  to  be  pondering  his 
possible  weakness  and  strength. 

"How  can  I  explain  to  you,  when  you're  a 
paid  agent  of  Ganley'sf" 

"Don't  be  too  sure  of  that  I"  McKinnon  ejac- 
ulated, with  more  feeling,  apparently,  than  the 
woman  had  expected. 

"Ton  mean  yon  may  not  work  with  himt" 


100   THE  FAWN  AND  THE  BOABD 

"If  you  like  to  take  it  that  way." 

"But  he  has  won  you  over  to  his  aide— he  has 
captured  you  against  your  willt" 

"I  don't  quite  understand,"  persisted  the  op- 
erator. 

"Noj  hot  Oanley  does.  That's  why  ho  has 
bought  you  over,  and  led  you  into  his  power 
in  this  way."  She  was  speaking  more  rapidly 
now;  a  brightened  colour  had  come  into  her 
cheeks. 

"But  how  am  I  in  his  power!"  MdEOnnoB 
asked. 

"What  was  the  paper  yon  dgnedt  "What 
have  yon  promised!  What  was  the  money  paid 

over  to  you  fort" 

"To  hold  back  certain  messages." 

"Yes,  to  hold  back  messages.  And  vhy  do 
that!" 

"  S<  ^  at  this  man  Ganle the  man  ho  calls 
Ganle>   can  be  held  at  Puerto  Locombia." 

"You  mean  the  other  man,  the  man  in  the 
cabin!  Then  you  don't  believe  what  I  have  said 
about  the  real  Ganley!" 

"I  don't  know  what  to  believe,"  the  non- 
committal McKinnon  complained,  studying  tho 
woman's  face.  The  only  eondusion  he  came  to 
was  that  it  was  a  distozl^tti^y  beautiful  one. 

She  was  nlent  for  a  momoit,  apparently  deep 
in  thought 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  101 

"I  don't  ask  jon  to  believe  im  wm—iVt  not 
fair.  But  do  you  realise  where  you  stand  t" 

The  solemnity  of  her  manner,' more  than  her 
words,  prompted  McKinnon  to  ask:  ''Where 
do  7<m  think  I  stand 

''Before  danger  you  scarcely  dreaoi  of,"  an- 
swered the  young  woman,  retnminff  his  gut. 
"It's  not  so  much  that  yon  hare  fonned  ta  al- 
liance with  a  criminal,  an  outiaw,  who  wonkl 
have  to  face  a  fusilado  the  moment  he  was 
caught  in  Guariqui.  But  it's  the  fact  that  he's 
M  treacherous  with  his  friends  as  with  his  foes. 
Ton  have  declared  yourself  his  partner.  He  will 
iioldyontoii  He  wiU  nae  this  paper  you  signed 
as  a  proof  that  you  accepted  bnah-money,  if  it 
suits  his  purpose  to  do  so.  He  wiU  claim  yoa 
agreed  to  work  with  him.  He  will  hold  thii  over 
you  and  force  you  to  act  for  him." 

"But  why  should  I  stand  for  coercion  like 
IBatT"  asked  the  undisturbed  McKinnon. 

^What  would  yoo  dof  Ton  can't  go  to  your 
captain;  nor  to  your  oompany.  It's  too  late 
for  that.  You've  cut  yourself  off  from  them. 
But  that  isn't  the  real  danger.  The  real  danger 
is  that  Ganiey's  the  actual  head  of  the  revolu- 
tionary Jufita,  and  that  he  can  now  show  that 
you,  too,  are  one  of  them  I" 

"That  Vm  one  of  themt"  ahnoet  laughed  the 
Other. 


102   THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOARD 


'*He  holds  a  doenment  wliidi  praeticaUy 
brands  yon  as  a  Locombian  revolntionist.  We 
are  being  carried  to  a  country  where  things 
move  strangely  and  quickly.  If  Duran  has  the 
npper  hand  when  we  reach  Puerto  Locombia, 
you  dare  not  make  one  move  against  this  man 
Ganley." 

"I  dare  not,  yon  sayt'* 

"If  yon  do,  he  will  have  yon  handed  over  to 
Dnran's  officers  as  an  enemy  of  the  government 
—and  he  will  have  his  document  to  prove  it. 
If  Duran  has  been  deposed,  then  Ganley  is  the 
open  and  undisputed  master,  and  what  he  or- 
ders you  will  have  to  carry  out.*' 

"But  I*m  not  going  down  there  to  be  that 
government's  oatspftwt" 

"How  will  you  escape,  it?" 

"Well,  one  way  would  be  to  call  Ganley  np 
here  and  get  that  paper  back." 

Alicia  Boynton  laughed  quickly  and  quietly, 
with  an  upthmst  of  her  shoulders. 

"Can't  yon  see  that  it's  too  latet  The  price 
has  been  paid;  the  bargain's  been  stmek." 

"Not  necessarily!" 

"But  a  man  like  Ganley  never  trades  back. 
The  mistake  was  in  the  signing  of  the  paper. 
It  was  a  manifesto,  a  confession.  It  was  the  last 
^11  and  testament  of  your  good  name." 

McKinnon,  who  had  been  pacing  the  ealuii, 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  103 

mddtaoify  swung  about  and  faced  the  young  wom- 
an in  the  ateamer-diair. 

are  yon  saying  all  this  to  met"  he  de- 
manded. 

Her  troubled  eyes  once  more  rested  on  him, 
almost  in  pity. 

Because  we  are  facing  a  common  danger," 
she  answered  at  last.  Because  we  may  yet 
have  to  work  together  to  escape  from  that  dan- 
ger." 

**But  you  haven't  told  me  anything.  You 
haven't  explained  how  or  why  ^  are  in  this 

danger." 

Again  her  studious  eyes  seemed  to  be  weigh- 
ing and  judging  him.  He  knew  by  the  anxiety 
that  cr^t  slowly  into  her  face  as  she  watched 
him  that  her  decision  was  not  altogether  a  flat- 
tering one. 

"I  am  here  because  there  was  no  one  to  take 
my  place,"  she  answered,  simply  enough.  "I 
can't  explain  everything  now,  but  I  knew  they 
were  plotting  against  Guariqui  and  against  my 
brother.  I  knew,  at  the  last  moment,  that  Gan- 
ley  was  hurrying  to  Looombia,  and  I  knew  that 
the  authorities  at  Washington  were  soiding  a 
cruiser  to  the  Caribbean,  to  be  sear  in  case  of 
trouble.'* 

"You  mean  the  Princeton?"  McKinnon  asked. 
The  woman  nodded. 


104  THB  PAW  AND  THE  BOABD 


''Listen,''  she  went  on  after  another  moment 
of  thought.  "Anything  may  happen  before  wo 
reach  Paerto  Locombia.  If  the  Jmi^ahaye  car- 
ried ont  Gaaley '8  plans,  ererything  will  be  ready 
for  his  coup  d'etat/' 

Her  wotdB,  for  some  reason,  did  not  impress 
him  as  much  as  she  had  expected.  She  felt  that 
perhaps  she  was  not  being  specific  enough,  that 
she  was  not  making  the  case  sniSciently  clear. 

''This  movement  against  Gnariqni  will  not 
be  easy,"  she  hurried  on  to  explain,  "unless  the 
ileld-gims  have  already  been  landed.  The  pal- 
ace is  of  stone;  it  could  stand  to  the  last— it 
was  built  for  such  purposes.  It  could  hold  out 
for  weeks,  with  only  the  president's  body-guard, 
until  help  came." 

"From  wheret"  asked  McKinnon. 

"That  is  what  I  must  explain.  WhenDnran 
installed  the  electrio-light  plant  at  Puerto  Lo- 
eombia  he  put  up  a  wireless  station,  one  at  the 
coast,  and  another  on  the  palace  at  Guariqui. 
Unless  the  guns  have  been  landed,  there  is  to  be 
no  assault  on  the  capital  until  Ganley  has  been 
heard  from.  Puerto  Locombia,  of  course,  will 
be  in  the  bands  of  the  revolutionists.  They  will 
destroy  the  wireless  station  at  the  coast.  There 
are  few  or  no  ships  there  now,  on  account  of  the 
yrilow  fev^r.  •  It's  not  the  fever,  of  course,  but 
the  quarantine^— the  weeks  and  weeks  of  impris- 


THE  PAWN  AND  THE  BOABD  105 

onment— ihey  are  afraid  of.  Thii  ihip  wiU  be 
the  only  one  in  the  roadstead.*' 
She  watched  his  face  with  ahnoet  a  tonoh  of 

impatience.  She  looked  for  some  glance  or  ges- 
ture of  enlightenment  on  his  part.  Bnt  he  gave 
no  sign  of  comprehension;  so  she  was  forced  to 
go  on,  explicitly,  like  a  tator  slowly  demonstra- 
ting tiie  obvions  to  a  perversely  backward  pa- 
pil. 

"Ton  are  equipped  with  wireless.  That 
means  yon  will  be  able  to  talk  with  Gnariqni. 
If  Dnran  and  m;  brother  are  shut  np  there, 
callirg  for  help,  you  will  be  the  only  person  to 
hear  their  messages.  Can't  yon  understand? 
The  Gnariqni  station  is  not  one  of  high  power. 
It  can't  possibly  call  beyond  13ie  coast  Yet 
the  cruiser  is  to  be  lying  somewhere  between 
Culebra  and  Locombia,  waiting  to  help,  only  too 
anxious  to  interfere  at  the  first  official  call.  But 
that  call  can  never  reach  them  without  being  re- 
layed from  the  roadstead,  out  across  the  Carib- 
bouL  Ton  may  be  the  only  person  ^Hio  can  bear 
and  nndtrstand  Guanqnl'a  ecy  for  help." 


CHAPTEB  JX 


THB  OONVnaiNO  IBAILB 

McKiNNOK  drew  in  a  deeper  breath,  slowly 
and  leisnrely,  bnt  he  did  not  speak. 

*<Can't  yon  imderstandf "  the  yonng  woman 
in  the  bine  pilot-cloth  gown  was  aosioiisly  de- 
manding of  him.  ''Qanley  has  thonc^t  this  all 
out.  He  fonnd  ont  we  carry  wireless  equipment. 
He  knew  this  call  would  come  to  us.  He  has 
foreseen  that  we  could  relay  it  from  Puerto  Lo- 
combia  to  the  Princeton.  He  knows  that  you, 
and  yon  alone^  could  send  that  message  out  of 
Locombia." 

"And ;  rm  still  think  he's  tried  to  tie  me  up,  to 
keep  me  irom  sending  it!  And  you  insist  that 
those  first  despatches  he  filed  were  simply 
blinds!" 

Just  as  his  pretense  of  shadowing  Ganley 
was  a  blind!"  was  her  prompt  retort 

McEimion  fell  to  pacing  the  cabin  again.  Tbe 
woman  watched  him  without  (peaking;  Then 
the  operator  came  to  a  sudden  pause. 

loe 


V 


THE  CONVEBGINa  TBAILS  107 

<'Bat  I'm  not  free  yet  That  aohemer  itiU 
has  me  tied  down  to  him,  as  you  say.  We 
haven't  got  that  paper  out  of  his  hands." 

The  woman  nodded  her  head  slowly,  without 
any  outward  emotion. 

*'He  could  still  discredit  me  with  the  captain 
of  this  tuh,  if  that  happened  to  be  part  of  his 
game !  He'd  show  us  both  to  be  a  pair  of  liars 
the  moment  we  tried  to  comer  him  I" 

''And  once  at  Puerto  Locombia,  if  his  plans 
have  worked  out  as  he  wants  them  to,  he  can 
have  us  dragged  ashore !  And  if  Guariqui  falls 
he  can  have  us  held  as  enemies  of  the  new  gov- 
emmentl" 

"This  is  a  sloe  mess  I"  oahnly  meditated  the 

long-limbed  man  standing  before  her,  fadag 
her,  for  the  moment,  with  abstracted  and  unsee- 
ing eyes.  He  even  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
the  presence  of  the  woman. 

She  rose  from  her  chair  and  stood  before  him. 
We  have  to  get  ba^  that  foolish  paper, ' *  she 
said.  "Before  everything  else  we  must  get  bade 
your  receipt.'* 

The  quiet  determination  of  her  voice  startled 
him  a  little.  He  stood  regarding  her  with  a  new 
light  in  his  eyes.  All  his  training  had  been  re- 
pressional;  his  life  had  taught  him  to  resist 
every  threatened  surrender  to  the  emotionaL 
Yet,  as  he  saw  her  fhan,  so  isolated  tram  her 


m     TEE  OONVEBOINa  TRAILS 


kind,  80  apparency  unfitted  for  the  tasks  befof 
her,  BO  insidionsly  appealing  in  her  tender  wom- 
anhood, a  warm  and  winelike  current  of  sympa- 
thy began  to  creep  incongmously  through  his 
veins.  She  must  have  caught  some  inkling  of 
that  soft  invasion,  for  suddenly,  and  without 
apparent  reason,  her  face  deepened  in  colonr 
and  then  grew  paler  than  before.  She  held  out 
her  hand  as  though  to  bridge  the  awkward 
ailence  that  had  fallen  between  them.  MdKin.- 
non  saw  it  was  a  gesture  of  farewell. 

"Will  you  promise  me  to  do  nothing  until  I 
have  got  this  receipt  back  for  you?"  she  asked 
as  he  still  held  her  outstretched  hand. 

"But  why  should  you  fight  my  battles  for 
met"  he  asked,  wincing  a  little  before  her  opffli 
and  oonrageons  gaze.  **I  can't  have  yon  tnm 
highwayman  for  met" 

There  was  welling  up  in  him  a  wayward  sense 
of  guardianship  over  her  isolated  and  fragile 
figure,  of  responsibility  for  her  safety  and  well- 
being. 

"It  must  be  done,"  she  declared  with  a  bit- 
terness that  surprised  him  a  little.  "There  are 
two  doors  to  Ganley's  cabin.  It  is  one  of  a  suite. 

I  can  get  in  through  one  of  those  doors." 

"Through  one  of  those  doors t"  echoed  the 
man  before  her. 

"Yesj  to-ni^ht," 


^SE  CONVERGING  TEAILS  109 

"To-night!"  cried  McKinnon,  looking  dowiT 
at  her  in  mingled  protest  and  astonishment. 

"Hushr*  she  warned,  with  her  fingers  held 
np  close  before  his  face.  Their  accidental  con- 
tact with  his  lips  sent  a  responsive  thrill 
through  his  nervons  body. 

**Bxit  I  won't  hear  of  yon  doing  this  sort  of 
thing  just  because  I've  been  all  kinds  of  a  fool. 
I'm  going  to  this  man  Duffy,  or  Ganley,  or  what- 
ever his  name  is — I'm  going  to  face  him  myself 
and  make  him  put  this  whole  thing  right." 

"That  is  impossible,"  she  warned  him  in  her 
tense  whisper.  "Yon  do  not  understand.  Yon 
dont  know  this  man's  ways." 

He  could  see  some  definite  yet  mysterious  fear 
shadowed  on  her  face. 

"But  think  of  what  you're  threatening  to 
do  I"  McKinnon  argued.  "You  have  to  break 
into  this  brute's  cabin  and  steal  back  a  receipt! 
Think  of  the  risk  you'd  be  rmmingi" 

"It  has  to  be  done;  the  sooner  it's  done  the 
better." 

"But  why  does  it  have  to  be  done  in  this 

wayt"  persisted  McKinnon. 
*  *  Because  you  must  not  do  it ! " 
"Why  not!" 

"It  would  be  like  cannonading  canaries— yon 
most  save  yourself  for  the  bigger  risks  I" 
Her  nnnttered  misery,  her  inartiflnlate  aoz* 


/' 


110     THE  CONVERGING  TBAILS 

iety,  more  and  more  disturbed  and  depressed 
him.  But  there  were  many  things  on  which  he 
was  still  uncertain,  and  above  all  things  he  knew 
that  he  must  go  slow. 

The  woman  confronting  him  must  have  seen 
some  flash  of  doubt  on  his  face,  for  she  caught 
at  his  arm  with  a  sudden  little  movement  that 
was  as  imploring  as  it  was  feminine. 

*  *  You  don 't  trust  me  ?  You  don 't  believe  what 
I  have  told  you?"  she  cried  in  her  hurrying, 
low-toned  whisper. 

'*NoI  nol  It's  not  that  I"  McKinnon  an- 
swered. "Bnt  I  can't  quite  see  my  way  oat— 
I  cant  see  what  it's  all  leading  to." 

"But  nothing  can  happen  now,  here  at  sea. 
And  you  will  understand  later.  Promise  me 
you'll  wait!" 

"Yes;  but  wait  for  whatt" 

"Until  you  are  free  to  act,  and  you  know 
what  I  have  said  is  true." 

He  took  a  torn  up  and  down  the  cabin.  "/« 
this  paper  so  important?  I  mean,  isn't  this  a 
lot  of  fuss  and  feathers  about  a  small  thing?" 

"It's  one  of  the  small  things  that  count  in 
war — and  this  is  war." 

Still  again  he  felt  the  inapposite  and  insidi- 
ous appeal  of  her  womanhood.  It  wound  about 
him  and  tugged  at  him,  eroding  away  hia  self- 
will,  his  old-time  careless  andaeity  of  8piiit»  like 


THE  CONVEBOINO  TBAILS  111 


a  enmnt  eating  midar  a  laad-buL  It  made 
aaorifice  on  her  bdialf  aeem  a  burden  to  be  al- 
most gladly  borne. 

"Only  promise  me  that  you'll  wait  I"  she 
pleaded.  His  career  had  been  one  of  mach  con- 
tention; but  never  before  had  he  been  compelled 
to  fight  againBt  what  seemed  his  own  self-inter- 
est. He  felt,  in  doing  so,  that  he  was  being 
thrust  and  involved  in  entanglements  whidi 
should  have  been  evaded  as  mere  side  issues. 
He  even  marvelled  at  his  sheer  lack  of  resent- 
ment against  capitulation  so  indeterminate  and 
yet  so  complete. 

"Promise  mel"  sli»  whispered.  He  wanted 
to  beg  for  tbne^  to  thhuk  things  oat,  bot  her 
tr  nbled  face  was  bewilderingly  close  to  his,  and 
lemory  that  he  was  not  innocent  of  the  anz- 

y  weighing  upon  her  made  him  more  and 
more  miserable. 

"I  promise,  '  he  answered.  The  clasp  of  her 
hand  sent  a  second  inapposite  tingle  of  joy 
throngh  his  body. 

''You  will  waitt"  she  insisted,  as  though 
doubly  to  impress  on  each  of  them  some  future 
course  of  action.  "You  will  say  nothing  until 
I  have  done  what  I  promise?'' 

"There's  nothing  I  can  say  or  do,"  he  re- 
plied, still  demanding  of  himself  if  it  conld  be 
rifl^t  to  pnt  her  to  sudi  a  test 


112     THE  CONVEBQINQ  TBAIL8 


«Thin  rtmember,"  ihe  laid,  aiid  her  vite 
was  little  more  than  a  whiiper,  **w»  m  aottnf 

together." 

McKinnon  still  stood  there,  watching  her,  as 
she  opened  the  cabin  door  and  stepped  out  to 
the  wet  and  gloomy  deck.  Something  about  her 
departure  so  paralleled  that  of  the  man  who  had 
fpnie  before  her  that  the  eoinddenoe  strook  hhn 
with  a  start  It  brought  the  thought  throned 
him  like  an  arrow  that  he  had  openly  pledged 
himself  to  two  opponents,  that  he  had  made  a 
promise  to  act  for  two  enemies.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  second  and  an  equally  disturbing 
thought:  he  had  not  once  been  honest  or  open 
with  her;  he  was  letting  his  lade  of  candour 
make  her  path  a  harder  one  than  she  deserved. 

He  sprang  through  the  door  after  her,  swept 
by  a  sudden  fierce  fire  of  self-hate,  of  contempt 
for  the  things  in  which  he  found  himself  in- 
volved. 

A  naoment  later  he  had  called  her  back  across 
the  midnight  gloom  of  the  dipping  and  roddog 
deck. 

"What  is  itT'*  she  asked,  as  she  stepped  into 
the  cabin,  her  eyes  wide  with  wonder.  He  made 
sure  the  deck  was  empty,  and  closed  the  door. 
Then,  with  an  obvious  effort,  he  wheeled  about 
and  *aced  her. 

**It  may  not  be  too  late  for  us  to  get  oat  of 


THB  OONVEBOING  TRAILS  IIS 

fhis  BUM/'  h»  told  lier,  *<aiid  g»t  out  of  it  in 
ih»  rifl^t  way.*' 
/'But  what  wajf**  she  Mind,  piiBltd  bj  hit 

unheralded  change  of  front. 

^"The  quick  way,  and  the  sure  way,"  he  an- 
swered, swinging  across  the  cabin  until  he  stood 
before  his  switch-lever.  His  hand  hovered  about 
the  apparatus  as  he  went  on.  "I  mean  our  way 
out  is  to  get  the  Princeton  now,  to-night,  before 
she 's  out  of  touch  with  us !  I  mean  it's  beat  for 
us  to  play  our  card  at  once,  when  it's  not  too 
late  I  The  Princeton  has  already  passed  us  on 
her  way  to  Culebra,  to  replace  the  gunboat 
Eagle;  she's  leaving  us  fa  .ther  and  farther  be- 
hind every  honrt" 

"But  what  do  we  gain  by  getting  the  Prmee- 
ton  nowt"  Alicia  Boynton  demanded. 

He  was  at  the  key  by  this  time,  and  the  "crash 
— rash—rrrrash"  of  the  great  spark  as  it  leaped 
and  exploded  from  the  discharging-rods  filled 
the  cabin  with  a  peremptory  and  authoritative 
tmnnlt  of  sound.  The  woman  stood  watching 
him,  spellbonnd.  A  moment  later  McKinnon's 
left  hand  was  fidgeting  above  his  toner,  while 
his  right  pressed  a  'phone-reoeiver  dose  to  his 
ear. 

*'What  we've  got  to  do  is  to  get  that  cruiser 
to  Puerto  Locombia,"  he  hurriedly  went  on;  as 
he  waited  there,  without  looking  up.  "She  will 


U4     THB  OONVIROINO  TRAILS 


be  needed;  she  is  needed;  and  the  may  M  well 
be  tdd  of  it  now.  I  metn  well  do  wluii  we*vo 
got  to  do  wbile  the  way'!  ttm  dear.*' 

"Bnt  how  can  you  order  about  an  American 
warship  aa  thoni^  it  were  a  street  cab  you'd 
hired!'* 

"It  won't  be  mo— it'll  be  the  wireless  that 
does  the  ordering." 
*'Bnt  who  are  yont" 

<*That'8 just it-I*laiBobo^t  I*kn like thoae 
canaries  you  sp<dn  of;  I  wouldn*t  be  worth  can- 
nonading." 

"But  you  have  no  power  to  do  this  I"  de- 
murred the  still  puzzled  woman.  "You  are  not 
the  President  of  the  United  States!  Tou  have 
no  authority  to  order  about  a  battleahipl" 

make  the  authority!"  he  cried  as  he 
sprang  to  his  key  and  once  more  called  through 
the  night  "You've  said  just  enough  to  give 
me  my  chance  to  make  my  course  plain.  Ameri- 
can interests  are  threatened  in  Guariqui  at  this 
very  moment;  American  property  has  already 
been  destroyed  in  Puerto  Locombia.  It's  only 
forestalling  the  inevitaUe.  I  mean  l*m  going 
to  send  an  olBcial  call  for  that  cruiser  myself!" 

HhB  woman  looked  at  him  in  amazement  as  he 
swung  about  and  clapped  the  'phones  onoe  more 
to  his  ears. 

"If  we  can  only  get  her!"  he  half  groaned 


THE  OONVBBQINO  TRAILS  U5 

M  1m  ttood  wifh  bnt  liMid  and  find  «yw,  Ui- 
twiiif ,  idiite  the  Moondt  draggtd  dowly  by. 
*<If  wt  eu  only  8«t  iMT  riM  rtpMtted  iMi  bop** 
follj. 

H«  tnrned  to  his  switch  again,  and  still  again 
the  great  bine  spark  erupted  and  crashed  and 
volleyed  from  the  dischargiu!  ods.  Then  again 
he  waited  and  listened,  th  ^ues  on  his  face 
deepening  in  the  hard  light  from  the  electrics 
above  him. 

"The  night*!  againit  ml"  b«  tidtimed  al- 
moit  detpairini^  «•  the  twitch  came  purringly 
down  on  the  contact-pint  and  hia  hand  <»ee  mom 

went  out  to  his  key-lever.  His  fingers  closed  on 
the  handle,  but  the  intended  call  was  not  sent. 
No  nervous  flash  of  blue  flame  bridged  the  wait- 
ing spark-gap.  For  even  before  he  turned,  Mc- 
Kinnon  knew  that  his  cabin  door  ha  i  been  sud- 
denly opened  and  that  a  squat  and  fhkk-set  fig- 
ure stood  there  peering  in  at  hinL 

"What're  you  workin*  that  key  fort"  de- 
manded the  figure.  It  was  the  thunderous  voice 
of  the  ship's  master.  Captain  Yandel.  McKin- 
non  remembered  that  he  must  have  overheard 
the  spark-kiss  at  the  masthead,  from  the  bridge. 

"What're  yon  tryin'  to  send  out  theret*'  re- 
peated the  officer. 

getting  distances  from  a  Standard  Oil 


U6     TH£  CONVEBGING  TBAILS 

tank,"  answered  the  man  at  the  table  after  jnst 
a  moment  of  hesitation. 

*' Distances  at  this  time  o'  night!" 

"You  heard  what  I  said,  didn't  yout"  cried 
the  defiant  McKinnon. 

The  enraged  officer  let  his  glance  wander  to 
the  woman,  who  had  backed  away  a  little,  as 
near  to  the  door  as  possible.  McKinnon  did  not 
move,  but  he  was  thinking  both  hard  and  fast. 
He  had  already  seen  the  look  on  the  other  man's 
face. 

"What's  this  woman  doing  here!"  demanded 
Captain  Yandel. 

The  long-limbed  operator  shot  up  out  of  his 
chair  angrily  at  the  barb  in  that  thnnderons 
▼<Hce.  He  kept  telling  himself  to  keep  cooL  It 
was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  he  was  still  untu- 
tored in  accepting  insolence  without  protest.  Yet 
still  again  the  challenge  was  flung  at  him. 

"What's  this  woman  doing  in  this  station  at 
this  time  o'  night!" 

McKinnon  turned  slowly  about. 

"Shall  I  teUhimf"  he  asked.  His  voice  was 
so  quiet  and  seemingly  self-contained  that  the 
woman's  first  blind  panic  of  fear  slipped  away 
from  her. 

"Yes,  tell  him,"  she  answered. 

The  captain  strode  into  the  cabin.  He  stood 
behind  Alida  Boynton,  a  little  to  one  side;  Mc- 


THE  CONVERGING  TRAILS  117 


Kinnon,  from  the  operating-table,  faced  the  in- 
truder. The  tones  of  his  voice  as  he  spoke  car- 
ried a  tacit  reproof  tr  nirf  superior,  a  reproof 
for  the  boisterous  n(  o  that  bad  been  thrust 
upon  their  quiet  and  c  rderly  talk. 

"This  woman  is  my  wife  I" 

"Your  what!"  cried  the  captain. 

"This  woman  is  my  wife!"  repeated  the  op- 
erator, without  so  much  as  a  glance  at  the  pant- 
ing girl's  colourless  face.  "As  you  may  have 
the  discernment  to  discover,  she  is  a  civilised 
being,  and  brutality  has  no  particular  fascinar 
tion  for  her!" 

"And  what's  all  that  to  do  with  itf "  donand- 
ed  the  captain,  warming  up  to  a  scene  from 
which  he  could  usually  wring  his  sardonic  de- 
lights. 

"It  has  this  to  do  with  it — ^that  she  is  making 
this  trip  as  a  passenger.  I  mention  tiie  fact  ben 
cause  yon  may  see  lier  In  this  cabin  again,  at 
many  times,  and  at  hours  quite  as  unusual  as  the 
present." 

"I  will,  will  IT"  retorted  the  other. 

"You  will!  And  what's  more,  so  long  as  I 
do  my  duty  by  this  ship,  and  by  my  company, 
her  presmce  here  calls  for  no  insolence,  uther 
offidal  or  unofficial  I" 

"You  be  damnedl'*  roared  the  master  of  the 
•hip»  aghast  at  such  effrontery. 


118      THE  CONVERGING  TRAILS 


"There  again  I'm  afraid  I  must  both  disap- 
point you  and  disagree  with  you.  And  at  the 
same  time  I'd  like  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  this  is  a  wireless  station,  and  that  it 
stands  under  the  protection  of  the  Berlin  Inter- 
national Concordat  1" 

' '  To  hell  with  you  and  your  Concordats !  This 
is  my  ship—'* 

"Precisely;  and  I,  unfortunately,  have  been 
put  here  to  do  my  work,  and  I'm  " 

"Yes,  by  Heaven  1"  broke  in  the  irate  captain, 
"you're  here  to  do  your  work!  You  were  stuck 
in  here  under  my  nose,  for  reasons  I  don't  un- 
derstand; but  when  you're  here  you're  goin'  to 
do  your  work  as  I  say!  And  what's  more,  I 
want  you  to  bear  in  mind  that  I  intend  to  stay 
master  o'  this  ship!  And  while  I'm  master  o' 
this  ship  I  want  no  insolence  from  upstart  wire- 
stretchers  !  So  you  do  your  despatchin'  in  reg- 
ular hours,  and  when  I  say  so,  or  I'll  ship  you 
back  to  your  company  in  irons!" 


THE  BSVXB8I  OF  THB  SHISLD 


The  captain  of  the  Lammian  wheeled  ahout 
and  strode  out  of  the  cabin,  swinging  the  door 
shut  with  a  slam  that  loosened  flakes  of  white- 
lead  paint  from  the  ceiling-boards. 

''So  he's  against  us,  tool''  murmured  the  op- 
erator. 

There  was  a  moment  of  unbroken  silenoe  be* 

fore  the  woman  looked  up. 

"Why  did  you  say  that  to  him?"  she  demand- 
ed, trembling  with  indignation.  Even  her  voice 
shook  a  little  as  she  spoke.  "How  dare  you  say 
a  thing  like  that?" 

McKinnon  crossed  the  room  until  he  stood  al- 
most at  her  side. 

"I  had  to  say  that/'  he  answered.  ''It  was 
the  only  way  out." 

"A  lie — ^a  base  lie  like  that — the  only  way 
out?" 

"Yes,  the  only  way,  for  now  that  man  must 
not  suspect." 

lit 


120     BEVEBSE  OF  THE  SHIELD 


•*Subp€ct  what!" 
"What  each  of  us  knows  I" 
"But  you  have  just  challenged  his  power; 
you've  disclaimed  his  authority!  What  can  he 

do?" 

"  He  can  do  anytiiing !  On  the  high  seas  he*i 
king  over  this  little  floating  kingdom  of  his/' 

"And  you,  too,  are  under  him!" 

"As  much  as  one  of  his  stokers,  in  a  way." 

"But  what  have  yon  gained  by  a  lie  like 
this?" 

He  found  it  hard  to  understand  her  scruples, 
to  futhom  her  indignation.  He  stopped  her  ai( 
she  started  to  speak  again. 

"Wait !  Don't  say  anything  more  until  I  try 
to  explain  what  it  means  to  you." 

He  peered  out  along  the  deck  and  then  slipped 
the  bolt  in  the  cabin  door  before  he  tamed  to 
her  again. 

' '  Listen  I  What  I  have  to  say  is  only  the  other 
half  of  your  own  story,  of  what  you  yonredf 
have  said.  If  Duran  and  his  army  are  shut  np 
in  Gnariqui,  it's  because  they're  there  wUhoui 
ammunition  r* 

"You  know  that?"  she  cried. 

"Yes;  and  this  man  Ganley  knows  it.  He 
knows  it  because  he's  been  the  cause  of  it.  Six 
hundred  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition  went 
out  of  Mobile  for  the  LoG(sxil»an  troops,  for 


BEVfiBdE  OF  Tfifi  BBXBLb  121 


Ulloa  and  his  men.  They  were  carried  to  Puerto 
Locombia  on  the  Santa  Anna,  secretly,  in  bar- 
rels that  were  labelled  and  invoiced  as  cement, 
80  they  could  be  shipped  on  to  Gnariqni  with- 
out suspicion.  Bnt  Ganley  or  the  Junta  or  fhmr 
spies  got  to  know  of  it.  The  Santa  Anna  was 
scuttled  in  the  roadstead  at  Puerto  Locombia. 
Those  cartridges  went  to  the  bottom — forty-six 
barrels  with  double  heads,  the  heads  holding  a 
sprinkling  of  cement  and  the  main  space  full  of 
cartridges  packed  in  excelsior.  Every  ponsd 
of  it  went  down." 

**This  can't  be  true!"  ahnost  groaned  the 
girl  at  his  side. 

"Every  word  of  it's  true.  But  let  me  go  on. 
De  Brigard  and  his  men  have  been  in  almost  ' 
as  bad  a  predicament.  This  advantage  was  use- 
less unless  he  had  ammunition  for  his  own  men. 
That's  where  Ganley  came  in.  His  agents  found 
that  ground  iron  slag,  packed  in  cases,  weighed 
up  to  just  about  what  a  case  of  cartridges  would. 
So  they  bought  eighty-eight  cases  of  iron  slag 
from  a  Hudson  River  factory  town  and  ferried 
it  down  to  New  York.  It  was  consigned  to  Lo- 
combia, properly  enough,  as  basic  iron  silicate 
for  flnxing  purposes.  The  law  compels  all  sodi 
exporters  to  file  with  tiie  port  ooUeetor  a  distinct 
declaration  of  the  goods  shipped,  the  country 
riupped  to»  and  the  name  of  the  consignee.  This 


122     BEVERSE  OF  THE  SHIELD 


has  to  be  accompanied  by  oath.  Besides  the  due 
inspection  of  the  shipment,  the  shipper  has  to 
make  his  declaration  before  the  consul  of  the 
country  to  which  any  such  goods  are  sent.  All 
this  was  done." 

"But  how  do  you  know  this!" 

''Let's  say  that  I  stumbled  upon  it  in  my 
work  as  a  wireless  operator.  But  here  is  the 
real  point:  in  some  way,  which  needn't  now 
concern  us,  those  innocent  boxes  of  powdered 
slag  were  tampered  with.  They  became  cases 
neatly  packed  with  anununition,  with  just 
enough  iron  silicate  thrown  in  to  fill  up  the 
chinks  and  cover  the  real  contents.  In  other 
words,  Ganley  and  his  men  have  sent  out  of 
New  York  five  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
rounds  of  ammunition,  consigned  to  the  revolu- 
tionary Junta  at  Puerto  Locombial** 

"But  how  do  you  know  thist"  once  more  de- 
manded the  Hstening  woman. 

"Let  me  finish,  please.  Along  with  those  car- 
tridges were  sent  eight  cases  of  'structural 
iron.'  These  cases,  in  reality,  contain  eight  hun- 
dred Remington  rifles.  Ani  not  only  has  this 
stuff  been  sent  out  of  New  York  by  Ganley  and 
his  men,  but  these  guns  and  cartridges  at  this 
very  moment  are  on  this  ship,  amd  vnder  this 
very  deck!** 

Alicia  Boynton  sank  slowly  down  into  the 


BEVEBSE  OF  THE  SHIEIiD  128 


steamer-chair  against  which  she  had  been  lean- 
ing. McKinnon  could  see  that  her  breath  was 
coming  fast  and  short 

*<Thi8  can't  be  tniet"  she  whispered,  letting 
her  hands  fall  weakly  between  her  knees.  * '  They 
may  have  said  this,  but  it  was  only  to  decttve 
you,  to  point  out  some  false  trail!" 

"One  moment,  until  I  explain.  I  am  only  the 
wireless  operator  on  this  boat.  I  am  a  new- 
comer, as  well,  for  this  is  my  first  mn.  One 
hour  before  the  Laminiem  sailed  her  old  oper»> 
tor  failed  to  report,  and  could  not  be  fonnd.  Th» 
De  Forest  Company  at  once  hurried  a  new  maa 
over  to  the  ship.  I  am  that  mam" 

"Still  I  don't  understand.  .Why  are  you 
here!" 

That's  what  the  captain  of  this  ship  is  so 
uncertain  about.  That's  why  he's  so  down  on 

ust  That's  why  he's  sneaking  about  and  spy- 
ing on  this  cabin  like  a  cat  on  a  mouse-hole !  I 
don't  mean  that  he's  a  paid  agent  of  the  Junta 
— I  don't  even  believe  he  knows  what  this  ship 
is  carrying.  He's  only  soured  with  alcohol,  and 
jealous—bullheadedly  jealous — of  his  little 
world  of  authority." 

**Ba%  still  yon  haven't  told  me  who  you  ftre, 
or  wbj  you  came  here." 

"I  am  a  wireless  operator,"  he  said  after  a 
moment '8>glance  into  the  girl's  clear  ejds,  as 


124     BEVEBSE  OF  THE  SHIELD 


IflM 


though  to  fathom  just  how  brightly  the  old-time 
fires  of  intelligence  were  burning  there. 

"  What  were  yonf "  she  was  asking  him,  her 
note  of  frustration  seeming  to  merge  into  one 
of  distrust. 

"I'll  have  to  go  back,  away  back,  to  make 

even  that  clear  to  you." 
"Please  do." 

"Well,  it  was  over  five  years  ago  that  I 
first  went  to  Pern,  to  look  after  the  electri- 
cal equipment  of  the  Pachita  Water  Pow- 
er Corporation.  They  had  to  protect  the  forests 
on  their  power  watersheds,  so  I  wired  their 
whole  countryside  and  equipped  their  fire-ran- 
gers with  portable  telephones.  That  meant  they 
could  cut  in  anywhere  and  send  for  help  in 
case  of  emergency.  But  a  peon  or  a  gaudho 
wouldn't  stand  for  witchcraft  like  that,  and  the 
mandador  sorrowfully  intimated  that  I  was  too 
modern. 

"So  I  next  found  myself  in  Nicaragua,  with 
the  task  of  superintending  certain  telegraph- 
construction  work  for  Zelaya.  When  that  was 
finished,  for  two  years  I  was  in  the  intelligence 
department  of  the  Brazilian  government,  but 
the  climate  wasn't  the  sort  that  a  white  mar. 
could  thrive  on,  and  I  had  to  give  it  up.  Then, 
when  the  Masso  Parra  trouble  first  broke  out 
Magoon  invited  me  over  to  Pinar  del  Bio  and 


BEVEBSE  OP  THE  SHIELD  125 


consigned  me  to  a  wireless  station  there.  My 
real  duty  at  Plnar  del  Bio  was  to  forward  cipher 
reports  to  Havana  and  keep  the  authorities 
there  in  proper  tonch  with  any  fiUbaster  move- 
ments in  the  affected  district.  Then  came  a  lean 
year,  when  I  tallied  coffee-bags  and  banana- 
hunches  from  a  roof-car  at  Port  Limon,  until 
I  elbowed  my  way  into  a  position  as  night  op- 
erator on  the  Gosto  Bican  Northern.  It's  all 
very  tame  to  tell  about,  yet  it  had  its  compen- 
sating touches  of  adventure  now  and  then.  But 
I  wanted  to  get  North  and  work  out  some  elec- 
trical apparatus  that  had  been  preying  on  my 
mind.'* 
He  came  to  a  stop. 

''And  you  went  North she  prompted  hinu 

He  looked  up  with  his  quick  smile. 

«Tou  know  there's  a  certain  group  of  rocks 
on  the  Olancho  River,  near  Jutigalpa,  where 
the  water  is  beautifui'y  clear.  They  say  that  if 
you  once  dive  from  that  cliff,  no  matter  where 
you  go,  you  will  return  to  Olancho,  in  the  end, 
that  you  will  die  somewhere  along  the  fringe  of 
the  Caribbean.  I  took  that  ^ve." 

She  gave  vent  to  her  habitoal  little  head^ 
shake. 

"They  say  the  same  thing  if  you  drink  from 
the  Fontana  di  Trevi  in  Rome.  It 's  very  pretty> 
but^  of  course,  it's  also  very  foolish,*' 


126     BEVEBSE  OF  THE  S. 


"In  one  way  it  is,  bnt  still  it's  hard  to  ex- 
plain how  the  unattached  man  from  the  North 
is  held  by  the  tropics.  That's  what  made  me 
catdi  at  Uie  old  Imit  when  I  had  a  ehanoe  to  go 
to  the  Cantonese  District  to  look  into  the  Chi- 
nese boycott  affair.  And  it's  the  same  thing,  I 
sni^pose,  that's  taking  me  south  to  Locombia." 

The  girl  gave  vent  to  a  gesture  of  impatiencOi 

"That  doesn't  explain.'* 

"What  more  can  I  sayf "  he  demanded.  He 
struggled  to  conceal  the  fact  that  he  was  afraid 
of  her,  that  life  had  always  tanght  him  to  be 
wary  before  the  unknown  factor  in  the  equation 
of  adventure,  tha^ very  softness  was  some- 
thing against  which  he  had  to  steel  himself, 
grimly  and  resolutely. 

"You  can  say  everything  you  have  so  care- 
fully left  unsaid,"  w&s  her  unexpectedly  spirit- 
ed answer. 

''There's  nothing  more,"  he  protested,  feel- 
ing the  silence  grow  heavy  about  him. 

"I  trusted  you  I"  said  the  girl  at  last. 

"And  1  would  trust  you!"  he  said  quite  open- 
ly and  honestly. 

"You  mean  you  are  not  free  to  speakf"  she 
persisted,  evading  the  personal  issue  which  his 
declaration  had  thrust  before  her. 

"I  mean  that  it's  worse  than  foolish  for  us 
to  quibble  over  side  issues  when  we're  confront- 


BEVEBSE  OF  THE  SHIELD  127 

ed  by  things  of  so  much  more  importance.  I 
mean,  for  instance,  that  this  sujamer  is  carry- 
ing ammunition  to  De  Brigard  and  hia  men. 
If  that  ammnnition  is  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  the  Locombian  Government  instead  of  to 
their  enemies,  Ulloa  and  his  army  can  at  once 
re-enter  the  field." 
♦ '  But  why  re-enter  the  field  t  They  are  free. '  * 
"In  a  way,  yes;  but  they  are  now  shut  up 
in  Guariqui,  practically,  with  only  a  few  thou- 
sand reserve  cartridges  and  a  hidf  ton  of  use- 
less oordite.  But  the  moment  they  have  made 
sure  that  the  Lcminian  is  safely  tied  up  at  the 
pier  in  Puerto  Loeombia  they  plan  to  run  a 
banana-train,  armoured  with  boiler-plate,  down 
through  De  Brigard 's  lines  to  the  coast.  They 
will  fight  their  way  down,  probably  uuder  cover 
of  night,  run  thdr  cars  ont  on  the  pier  next  to 
the  Laminian's  berth,  seize  their  slag-boxes  as 
contraband  of  war,  and  fight  their  way  back  to 
Guariqui." 
"You  knoiv  th^s!" 

"It  is  the  knowledge  of  this,"  he  guardedly 
replied,  "which  makes  me  say  that  you  and  I 
are  compelled,  or  will  be  compelled,  to  act  to- 
gether." 

Alicia  Boynton  did  not  speak  for  several  sec- 
onds, but  her  stodious  eyes  were  fixed  on  Mo- 
Kinnon's  face. 


1S8    BSVSBSB  OF  THE  SHIELD 


"Yon  mean  that  yon  might  be  able  to  warn 
themf "  she  asked  at  last. 

**I  mean  that  it  might  be  possible,  under  eer- 
tain  obnditiona,  for  Dnran'i  palaoe  operator  to 

get  a  message  from  me.  It  might  also  be  pos- 
sible for  your  brother's  men  to  be  aboard  this 
boat  five  or  six  hours  after  that  message  was 
received.  So  why  not  explain  the  whole  situa- 
tion by  saying  that  both  of  us  chance  to  be  act- 
ing for  the  same  oaneef  We're  fighting  for  the 
same  end,  so  no  matter  how  it  hurts,  or  whatever 
may  happen,  we  mutt  siick  iogeihert** 

**But  why  leave  any  mystery  between  ns,  if 
we  are  already  that  close  f"  asked  the  girL 
"Why  can't  you  still  tell  me  everything!" 

"I'm  beginning  to  learn  that  you  can't  tell 
things,  in  my  calling,  until  you're  sure  of  your 
ground.  That's  why  I  had  to  fling  that  lie  to 
the  captain.  It's  warfare— and  I've  got  to  he 
true  to  my  people  before  everything  dee." 

"But  who  are  your  people!"  she  persisted. 

He  laughed,  a  little  wearily,  a  little  ambigu- 
ously. "I  have  no  people,"  he  said.  "But 
we've  got  to  fight  for  Qnariqui,  whatever  it 
oostsl" 


CHAPTER  XI 


TBI  MOVEMENT  IV  BITBIiiC 

It  mm  tbe  next  morning  that  McKianon  ohm 
nnexpectedly  face  to  face  with  Alicia  Boynto« 
in  one  of  tiie  Lamin'an's  narrow  companion- 
ways.  He  was  hurrying  up  to  his  oper  -•ar- 
room  after  a  brief  mockery  of  a  breakfu^i  a 
the  ship's  musty-odoured  dining-saloon,  and 
wonid  have  passed  on  w^  m&Smg  mm%  tea 
an  nnbetraying  nod.  But  tfce  anxiont-eyed 
yonng  woman,  with  a  barely  peieeptllle  gettara, 
iignalled  for  him  to  turn  back. 

He  followed  her  at  a  discreet  distance  as  she 
stepped  into  a  damp-carpeted  side  corridor 
flanked  by  white-leaded  cabin  doors.  She  quiet- 
ly opened  one  of  these,  with  a  half-diHtefated 
**7"  on  ita  lintel,  and  motioned  han  iaaide. 

He  anrmised  at  a  glance  that  it  was  her  state- 
rocm.  He  next  noticed  that  she  had  closed  the 
door  ,  nd  locked  it.  Something  in  the  quick  de- 
cisiveness and  dire«tness  of  her  movements 
touched  h^m  to  a  fleeting  moment  of  admiration. 

\ 
\ 

I 


■I'  / 


130  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  BETBEAT 

He  was  conscious  of  the  fact,  as  he  turned  to 
her,  that  his  earlier  sense  of  uneasiness  had  de- 
parted from  him. 

"Listen,"  said  the  qmet-moving  and  dear- 
eyed  girl,  peering  impersonally  np  at  him  as  she 
spoke,  and  yet  standing  so  dose  that  her  sleeve 
brushed  his  hand.  "I've  been  thinking  a  great 
deal  about  that  foolish  receipt.  It's  the  only 
thing,  now,  that  stands  between  us  and  our  free- 
dom of  action.  We  have  cleared  away  so  much : 
but  this  is  still  one  of  the  things  that  stand  be- 
tween US.  I  mean  it's  still  a  danger  to  yon— 
mudi  more  a  danger  than  I  can  make  yo«i  mider- 
stand,  unless  you  know  how  treacherous  and 
vindictive  this  man  Ganley  can  be." 

"But  why  should  I  be  afraid  of  Ganley t" 
McKinnon  maintained.  "I  can  fight  him  in 
his  own  way.  I  am  fighting  him  in  his  own 
way." 

"Ton  mi^t  do  it  at  home,  in  yonr  own  conn- 
try,"  she  warned  him,  "but  not  in  Locombia — 
not  anywhere  in  Latin  America.  He  knows  his 
ground  too  well,  his  tricks  and  his  chances,  his 
burrows  of  escape  when  he  needs  them.  He 
would  never  give  you  a  fighting  chance.  That's 
why  we  must  do  what  we  can,  at  once,  without 
dday." 

StUl  again  he  marvelled  at  her  directness  of 
purpose  and  movement,  at  her  nneqiiivoeatiiig 


THE  MOVEMENTIN  BETBEAT  m 


frankness  of  outlook.  It  implied,  he  felt,  a  cour- 
age seldom  demanded  or  met  with  in  the  im- 
nmred  and  upholstered  walls  of  a  modem  wom- 
an's world. 

"I  fhonglit  it  oonld  be  done  fhis  monung," 
she  went  on  hurriedly,  yet  In  a  tone  so  low  tliat 
he  had  to  stoop  a  little  to  catch  her  words. 
"Ganley  left  his  cabin  early;  I  was  ready  and 
waiting.  The  moment  he  was  away  I  let  myself 
into  his  room." 

She  stopped  to  smile  at  his  start  of  astonish- 
ment. 

**I  had  won  over  my  stewardess,"  she  went 
on.  "A  few  dollars  completed  the  conquest  and 
made  everything  so  mnch  easier.  She  even 
found  a  pass-key  that  fitted.  I  oonld  see  it  was 
dangerous,  and  I  had  very  little  time.  But  I 
failed.   The  receipt  was  not  there." 

"But  you  can't  do  this  sort  of  thing,"  Mo- 
Kinnon  expostulated,  fle  remembered  an  earlier 
speech  of  hers:  **It*s  one  of  the  small  things 
that  connt  in  war — ^and  this  is  war." 

*'lBnt  it  rather  late  for  going  back  over  that 
groondt"  she  was  saying. 

"But  this  sort  of  thing  involves  too  much 
risk  I  It 's  too  unfair  to  you  1 '  * 

"I  looked  through  everything,  as  far  as  I 
eonld/'  the  girl  at  his  side  went  on,  not  heeding 


132  !rHE  MOVEM£KT  IK  BBTBfiAT 


his  protest.  ''1  conld  find  no  trace  of  the  re- 
ceipt" 

' '  Of  course  not !  He  shows  the  valne  he  puts 
on  it  by  carrying  it  abont  on  his  person,  in  his 

wallet." 

'*Bnt  there  was  something  else  I  did  find 
out,"  she  said,  lowering  her  voice;  and  again 
he  was  strack  by  the  aura  of  sheer  vigour  that 
seemed  always  to  float  and  ding  abont  her. 
"It's  the  fact  that  eight  monntain-gons  are  to 
be  diipped  out  of  Mobile  this  week,  invoiced 
and  crated  as  steam-laundry  equipment.  They 
are  Hotchkiss  rapid-fire  guns,  breech-loading, 
and  with  fixed  ammunition.  Those  are  the  guns 
that  are  to  be  landed  soiaewhere  in  northern 
Locombia.  They  can  be  taken  apart,  piece  by 
piece,  and  carried  vp  through  the  hills  to  Onari- 
qni  on  burros." 

"And  he  had  the  coolness  to  send  out  a  wire- 
less about  that  equipment  I"  commented  McEan- 
non.  The  woman,  with  a  warning  look,  mo- 
tioned for  him  to  speak  more  quietly. 

"My  second  discovery  was  even  more  impor- 
tant. It  began  with  what  seons  to  be  a  note 
from  one  of  De  Brigard's  generals.  They  are 
still  afraid  of  some  counter-movement  to  s«ie 
their  cartridge  shipment.  I  mean  they  are  wor- 
rying about  the  very  ammunition  on  this  ship, 
the  cartridges  in  the  slag-boxes  you  spoke  about 


IITHE  ICOVSIfENT  IKT  BfiTBSAT  Idd 


As  far  as  I  can  make  out,  they  intend  to  com- 
mandeer a  certain  track-motor  frmn  the  Con- 
solidated Fruit  Concern.  They  are  to  seize  it 
and  take  it  from  the  ronndhonse  just  north  of 
Pnerto  Locombia." 

"What  kind  of  trad^-motorf"  broke  in  the 
thoDfl^tfnl-eyed  operator. 

"It's  a  specially  bnilt  sixty-horse-power  Bir- 
mingham motor,  belonging  to  the  railway  de- 
partment of  the  Fruit  Concern.  I  can  remem- 
ber when  it  was  first  imported,  a  year  ago.  The 
new  railway  constniction  engineers  have  b  an 
using  it  instead  of  a  coach  and  locomotive  for 
inspecting  the  ore-road  extensions  and  the  nar- 
row-gauge banana  lines  that  have  been  run  out 
into  the  Parroto  plantatimu.  Y<m  see,  it's  so 
light  in  weight  that  six  or  peons  oaa  lift 
it  about  on  the  track;  they  can  reverse  it  with- 
out a  turntable.  De  Brigard's  men  intend  to 
run  this  motor  out  on  the  railway  along  the 
pier,  at  night,  and  keep  it  hidden  in  the  Fruit 
Concern's  weigh-scales  shed,  not  forty  feet  from 
where  the  Lamtfitaii  will  be  sore  to  dodL  Then, 
as  far  as  I  can  make  ont,  the  slag-boxeB  are 
to  be  quietly  dropped  over  ib»  side  and  piled 
up  in  the  motor's  tonneau.  Then  it  is  to  be 
hurried  out  along  the  railway  track  to  Cocoanut 
Hill,  where  everything  is  to  be  stored  in  the 


134  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  RETHEAT 


power-house  until  the  Junta  distribnteB  fba  wq>- 
plies  to  De  Brigard's  men." 

"But  what  power-house  is  thist" 

"I  mean  the  electric-light  power-house  just 
outside  the  town." 

"This  is  worth  knowing!"  said  McKinnon, 
his  leaping  thought  already  struggling  to  bridge 
the  vicissitudes  of  the  future. 

"But  this  isn't  the  problem  that's  bloeldiig 
our  way,"  his  oompanion  warned  him.  "The 
first  ^hing  we  nrast  do  is  to  recover  our  lost 
ground.  We  have  to  get  back  this  reodpt  thai 
ties  you  down  to  Ganley." 

"But  even  for  that  we  have  to  ^ait  our 
chance." 

"Why  not  make  the  chance?" 

"How  make  it!" 

"Ckmley  is  in  hourly  dread  of  every  niMHMge 
that  oomes  into  your  wirelras^room.  He  insists 
on  omsoring  anything  that  might  betray  him. 
Then,  after  he  has  gone  to  bed,  to-night,  why 
not  send  for  him— hurriedly  call  him  up  to  your 
operating-room  t  Why  not  insist  that  he  should 
come,  before  he  has  time  to  dress  t  The  mere 
fact  that  carries  this  receipt  about  with  him 
on  his  person,  as  you  said,  shows  how  predooa 
he  holda  it  to  be.  But  if  he's  caught  off  his 
guard  in  that  way  he  might  forget  Youmic^ 


am  MOVEMENT  IN  BETBEAT  135 

easily  enough  keep  him  tiim  nUSi  yoa  Unr  In 

or  fifteen  minutes  I" 

''Yon  mean  the  chances  are  that  Hell  simply 
throw  on  anything  that's  nearest  him — a  blan- 
ket or  a  bathrobe,  if  it's  late  enough f" 

"Yes." 

«Bat  there's  the  captain  I*'  objeeted  MeSn- 
non.  ' 'There's  the  scene  ire  went  fhxoni^  last 

night." 

''Then  wait  nntil  the  captain  has  gone  to  his 
cabin  for  the  night.  The  later  it  is  when  you 
call  Ganley  the  better.  I  can  be  waiting.  The 
moment  he  has  left  his  cabin,  locked  or  unlocked, 
I  can  be  there  making  my  searoli." 

McKinncm  looked  down  at  her,  pnziled,  not 
by  her  proposal,  but  by  the  sheer  fact  that  she 
could  make  it.  He  began  to  feel  that  some  kin-' 
dred  and  compinionable  love  for  the  casually 
adventurous  linked  them  together;  he  began  to 
realise  that,  for  all  her  sex,  she  was  not  without 
her  yonthfnl  and  foll-Uoo^  relish  for  the  haz- 
ard of  ai^  true  game  that  ipas  worth  ika  cn- 
dle. 

Suppose  Ganley  suspects  something? " 
'  ''He  can  suspect  nothing  if  we  only  do  our 
part  of  it  in  the  right  way,"  admonished  the 
youthful  intrigante  before  him.  "He  lives  in 
daily  dread  that  yon  nu^  leoebe  mssssges 
ahoot      LocoBihitti  nprising)  or  hit  6W&  coo- 


186  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  BETBEAT 

nection  with  it  Thenwhynotasmmetihatade- 
gpatch  has  come  in,  (me,  for  instanoa,  stating 
that  Do  Brigard  and  UUoa  havo  met,  that  this 
revolution  about  which  you  understand  so  lit- 
tle has  actually  begun!  You  have  no  suspicion 
as  to  who  these  men  really  are.  It  will  only  be 
natural  for  you  to  make  inquiries.  You  might 
even  be  sending  for  further  particulars.  That 
would  keep  him  in  suspense:  that  would  hold 
him  there  and  give  me  the  time  I  need!** 

"But  if  he  insisted  on  not  waiting?" 

She  stood  for  a  moment  or  two  in  deep 
thought. 

"Then  you  would  have  to  warn  me." 
"ButhowT" 

Again  she  stood  gazing  at  him  with  medita- 
tive eyes. 

"Why  not  by  the  sound  of  your  spark?  You 
could  start  to  send  quickly.  I  could  hear  it 
quite  plainly  through  the  open  port-hole." 

"But  even  in  that,  again,  is  a  risk.  I  might 
be  sending  to  hold  Ganley,  and  not  to  warn 
you." 

They  stood  in  tbought  for  still  another  mo- 
ment or  two.  MoKinnon  was  not  altogether  un- 
conscious of  her  presence,  so  companionably 
close  to  him.  Until  that  day  he  had  faced  the 
isolation  of  the  man  who  plans  and  fights  alone. 
There  was  something  vaguely  consoling  in  the 


THE  MOVEMENT  IN  BETEEAT  137 


fhofoi^  of  eonmdMhip  lo  wbHooM  for  and  yel 
BO  snstaimng. 

''Wait,"  he  said,  as  a  sudden  thonght  came 
to  him.  "I  might  send  one  word,  a  simple  word 
like  *Oo.*  You  conld  easily  recognize  it,  then, 
as  a  warning.  That  would  be  simple  enough, 
if  yon  oonld  only  remember  the  Mone." 

"Would  it  be  hard!" 

He  tapped  out  the  dots  and  dashes  with  his 
finger-tip  on  the  rod  of  brass  from  which  the 
berth-curtains  hung.  She  listened  closely  as  he 
repeated  them.  Then  she  stooped  and  repro- 
duced the  signal  with  her  own  finger-tip  on  the 
wooden  edge  of  ber  narrow  berth.  The  ligbt 
and  alertnen  of  her  inqmring  eye*  as  she  looked 
up  into  his  sent  a  quick  and  inapposite  thriU 
of  appreciation  through  McKinnon. 

"That  T/ill  be  the  danger-signal,"  she  agreed. 
"When  I  hear  it  I'll  understand." 

But  McKinnon  was  held  back  by  a  sudden 
disturbing  thoof^t 

"Suppose  Ganley  himself  is  able  to  read  tbe 
Morsel" 

"But  don't  you  see  that  is  impossible!  He's 
shown  that  already.  He  never  would  have  come 
to  you  as  he  did  when  the  Laminian  was  leaving 
New  York  if  he  had  been  able  to  stand  on  the 
deck  and  read  your  spark  at  the  masthead,  or 
if  be  bad  eau^t  the  sound  f  rcnn  your  cabin  aa 


138  THE  MOVEMENT  IN  BETBEAT 

you  sent.  All  that  talk  of  his  was  only  to  blind 
you  to  his  real  end ;  it  was  only  to  find  out  if  he 
himself  had  been  found  out*' 

**Biit  eren  if  we  have  the  good  look  to  get 
baek  this  paper  he's  holding,"  began  McKin- 
noD,  once  more  marvelling  at  the  quick  coher- 
ence of  her  reas(»iing»  ''that  is  only  the  begin- 
ning of  things." 

"Yes,"  she  agreed,  dropping  her  intent  and 
troubled  eyes  before  his  steady  gaze.  "But  why 
should  we  eross  our  bridges  before  we  oome  to 
thant" 

He  still  had  to  confess  to  hunself  that  there 
was  something  almost  enigmatic  in  that  persist- 
ent yet  febrile  energy  of  hers.  It  was  so  vastly 
different  from  what  life  had  taught  him  to  ex- 
pect f  rwn  women  whom  the  hardening  years  had 
not,  touched  with  bitterness  and  left  old  and 
wise.  It  seemed  s  oontradiction  of  «fverything 
about  her — ^her  youth,  her  Aprilian  softness,  her 
obvious  honesty  of  outlook,  her  childlike  can- 
dour  of  face  and  character. 

Intuitively,  as  she  stood  there  studying  his 
changing  expression,  she  caught  at  the  feeling 
that  was  still  diallenging  and  bewildering  him. 

"This  is  pnzziiug  yon— 41iat  a  woman  can 
face  such  things  as  thist"  she  demanded,  with 
what  was  only  amranent's  hurried  and  unhappy 
smile.  "But  yon  must  remember  that  I  have 


am  MOVEMENT  IN  BETBEAX  130 


lived  in  the  midst  of  saxk  tbings  for  nearly  three 
yem'* 

"Were  fhey  always  this  badf "  he  aaked  her» 
with  an  answering  smile  that  miedged  the  so- 
lemnity of  the  question. 

"No,"  she  replied;  "but  all  the  while  I  was 
in  Gnariqui  I  breathed  nothing  bnt  an  atmos- 
phere of  intrigue  and  counter-intrigue.  It  was 
the  same  with  my  brother  Artnro,  ever  sinee  he 
went  south  to  fight  for  father's  claims.  We 
talked  and  worked  together  often  in  Chiariqni. 
It  must  have  crept  into  my  blood  in  some  way, 
for  even  when  I  was  away  from  it,  even  when 
I  was  safe  and  happy  in  New  York,  I  wasn't 
altogether  sorry  when  a  Locombian  planter's 
son,  studying  in  the  School  of  Mines  tliere,.oame 
and  gave  me  the  first  inkling  of  what  was  going 
on.  I  believe  I  was  almost  glad  wh&i  I  found 
Artnro  needed  me  again,  and  needed  me  sa  bad- 
ly. It  appealed  to  something  dominant  in  me; 
it  made  idling  seem  so  empty  and  foolish.  Then 
I  found  it  was  more  than  an  escapade,  a  game 
—that  it  was  a  peril,  and  I  couldn't  stand  off.  I 
cGoldnt  hold  myself  away  from  it  a  momait 
longer." 

He  moved  his  head  slowly  np  and  down  as 
a  sign  of  comprehension.  His  sympathy  brought 
the  fleetest  shadow  of  a  smile  to  her  still  trou- 
bled lips. 


140  THB  MOVEMENT  IN  BBTBEAT 


*  *  It  '8  not  that  I  like  it, ' '  she  said.  "  It 's  more 
.that  I  can't  bear  to  see  anything  that's  near  to 
me  softer  mideservedly.  I  hate  the  thought  of 

Artnro  being  dealt  with  80  unfairly.  It— it  

Oh,  I  think  it  must  be  because  my  own  father 
was  a  soldier  himself  I" 

"I  rather  imagine  I  know  the  feeling,"  Mo- 
Kinnou  told  her.  « *  I  think  I  Ve  carried  the  same 
fighting  madness  in  my  own  blood  for  quite  a 
nnmber  of  years." 

^'Bnt  you're  a  man,  and  yoa're  still  yovng," 
die  murmured,  looking  up  at  him  a  little  sor- 
rowfully, wondering  at  the  touch  of  bitterness 
that  had  crept  into  his  voice.  "You  do  it  from 
choice;  I  must  do  it  from  necessity.  You  can 
glory  in  it— it's  unselfishness  with  you;  it's  the 
spirit  of  adventure.  With  me  it's  only  selfish- 
ness—it's only  fighting  for  my  own." 

**Bnt  isn't  that  enonght"  asked  McKinnon 
comprehendingly  as  he  took  her  hand  and 
turned  away  toward  the  door. 

He  could  imagine  nothing  less  militant  and 
predaceous  than  that  soft  and  birdlike  warmth 
which  lay  for  a  moment  between  his  fingmn. 


CHAPTEB  Zn 


TBI  BULL-BAXnM 

MoEiNNON  waited  until  he  knew  Captain 
Yandd  had  taxned  in  from  the  bridge.  Seven 
belli  of  the  first  wateh  had  already  mnmded 

monrnfully  ont  of  the  gloom  qf  the  dipping  fore- 
castle, and  to  wait  longer  wonld  only  add  to 
the  danger  of  the  enterprise  in  hand.  The  wind 
had  somewhat  lessened,  so  that  the  seas  on  the 
Laminian's  quarter  were  less  thunderous  than 
during  the  day,  and  comparative  quietness 
reigned  on  the  ship's  xspjper  d»ek, 

MoEinnon,  as  he  stepped  out  and  gUmoed  to> 
wards  the  bridge,  felt  that  this  quietness  was  not 
without  its  touch  of  the  ominous.  Yet  he  quick- 
ly hooked  back  the  cabin  door  and  adjusted  his 
helmetlike  receiver.  Then  he  deliberately 
pushed  the  oall-button  thst  summoned  a  steward 
from  hAaw,  This  dime,  ne  tmmed  baek  to  his 
oparating-table,  drew  up  his  form-pad,  and 
wrote  a  sentence  or  two  on  it,  stadionsly  knit- 
ting his  brows  as  he  decided  on  the  same  and 

HI 


distances  of  the  sending  ship.  Then  the  pencil 
once  more  flew  over  the  form-pad.  He  did  not 
look  iq;>  until  he  heard  the  steward's  repeated 
knock  OB  his  door-frame, 

"Ten  the  passenger  in  statemm  fimm  to 
oomt  to  the  wireless-room, '  *  be  requestor  *'Qel 
him  here  qnick,  for  it'h  impovt.mt." 

Even  before  the  bIg -py  yod  sttward  had 
turned  away  the  operator  had  his  'phones  once 
more  ovor  his  ears.  Then  his  eyes  travelled  to 
the  wateb  lying  on  the  taUe  h^ore  hisQ,  sad  an 
iaereasing  si»rit  of  aneasasss  heii  eoaesaled 
and  revealed  itself  in  the  stodled  mmi  ddflbmte 
slowness  of  his  movemsBls  ikB  smIsb 
dragged  away. 

It  was  not  until  he  caught  the  sound  of  ap- 
proaching steps  that  he  reached  languidly  out 
aad  sw«^  de^  his  switdt-kifer.  Be  rteod, 
tten,  in  an  attitude  of  studied  piastuinniiuB, 
waiting  to  send  the  splash"  of  his  hlne^nsed 
spark  out  into  the  night.  Tet  the  one  sound 
that  camt  to  his  anxious  ears  was  that  of  slip- 
pered feet  shuffling  nearer  and  nearer  to  him 
along  the  deck.  It  was  not  a  hurrying  sound. 
There  mm  no  touch  of  anxiety  or  eageram  la 
the  heavy  and  aetho^e  tnad,  evw  as  il 
tered  his  very  cabin.  Tet  McKiimon  hmm,  ia- 
fore  he  so  much  as  looked  up  st  the  'miii^hu, 
that  it  was  Ganley  wha  had  cam  in  mmm  ii 


THE  BULL-BAITED  148 


Ms  calL  And  lie  had  to  revtnia  ft  nnile  at  the 
thoaght  of  how  identical  w^^re  the  tactwi  aiopt- 

ed  by  both  his  enomy  •   <i  lamself. 

•♦Wellt"  dema  idtfl  the  ion-committal  and 
titanlike  figure  aj<  McKini  m  worked  his  key  for 
a  preoccapied  momimt  or  *^^wo,  switchf  4  off,  and 
onae  mmB  took  ap  ^  s  eari^oafli. 

it  mm  at  koal  a  mmttte  b^v.  •«  xM»  operator 
deigaid  to  loei-  Aoat  Wi  he  J  tnm,  his 
first  move;nent  was  a  ler^^r  =Mr  »n  for  his 
visitor  to  dose  i  e  cabi!:  jefr  the 

man  \\ 'th  th'^  '>  hon»  id  mc*  aore  i  ned 
about  i  hib  Key  aid  ci  u  mmunication  veith 
a  t^mS&maiy  wm^ih-pf ^metA  Good-night,"  ho 
had  Bad*  eai^i^  m  at  iotrader'a  figan. 
It  aaggested,  as  Le  d  hoped,  that  of  m  tleeper 
terced      \i<  ctedl    )ut  of  his  berth. 

hurley  as  si  H  ')is  pajamas  of  braided 
CL  iCh »  Silk.  O  „h»  '  he  had  thrown  his 
gr««t  black  rai  Inis  he  held  together  at 

^  wiht  m  m  ii  iaeoBgnioasly  fomimno,. 
th  381^  tke  *ypn*m  oould  still  see  the  fat,  doad- 
ie^  wiMft  the  deei^iig- jacket  stood  apart 
hflMa^  I  pendnlons  and  weather-darkened 
thrnai  Tht  e  seemed  something  tfj'rantically 
PB  on<^  y  Colmnbinelike,  something 
Si  inin^'  an  jver-intimate  and  repulsive  in 
t^  waiting  %ure  and  its  aooidflotal  exposure 
ef  dead-whtta  iaik 


144 


THE  BtJLL-BAITEBS 


"Well?**  the  titanlike  visitor  draped  in  black 
once  more  demanded.  He  seemed  to  show  no 
midue  haste,  no  exceptional  interest  as  he  sto«id 
there  with  his  great  shonlderB  hnndbed  impas- 
sively np.  Between  his  fingers,  strangely 
enough,  he  held  one  oi  his  thick-bellied,  short 
Hocdurian  cigars,  as  yet  unlighted.  He  made 
a  picture  of  guarded  and  judicial  unconcern,  a 
picture  so  complete  that  McKinnon  stopped  for 
a  moment  to  admire  it  in  secret.  And  every 
second  that  passed  was  a  seoond  gained  Bnt 
the  limit  of  delay  had  already  been  readied 

"You  said  you  wanted  to  look  over  anything 
special  that  came  in,"  began  the  operator,  lay- 
ing down  his  'phones. 

The  Columbinelike  giant  in  pajamas  nodded 
his  head. 

«I*ve  got  news,  big  news,"  McKinnmi  con- 
fessed. **Tet  it's  not  exactly  abont  6anl«y." 

He  could  see  the  other  man's  eye-flaA  of  in^ 
patience,  but  still  the  attitode  of  wary  iib6QB> 
cem  was  not  relaxed. 

"Wellt"  was  all  Ganley  ventured. 

The  man  at  the  table,  as  he  tore  the  written 
sheet  from  his  form-pad,  knew  that  he  was  be- 
ing dosely  and  keenly  watched.  This  prompted 
him  to  toy  with  the  situation  for  another  nio> 
ment  or  tira^  for  ho  had  his  owa  wmUMag  to 
do. 


THE  BULL-BAITEBS  146 


"Do  you  know  anything  about  this  Looom- 
bian  miznpt"  waa  MeSimoii'a  eatnal  qnctticm 
as  lie  peered  iiMiiieiitaiily  dawn  at  the  abaet  In 
his  hand. 

"Not  a  whole  lot,"  guardedly  answered  the 
man  in  the  raincoat.  ''And  wh'at's  more,  I 
don't  v.-?int  to.  They're  all  the  same,  those  trop- 
ical revolutions;  the  same  fireworks,  the  same 
brass  bands,  the  same  bad  ammunition  and  gold 
braid  and  bombast,  and  the  same  eternal  coun- 
tryfnl  of  itarving  peons  1" 

MeKimuni,  watching  him  eovertly  and  eloi«^ 
iff  mm  a  littio  disappointod  at  his  aoan^  8  apa- 
Tb»  red-rimmed  eyes  seemed  to  grow  no 
more  alert  or  alarmed,  the  heavy  lips  continued 
to  chew  the  end  of  the  unlighted  and  thick- 
waisted  cigar.  Yet  time  waa  sUpjong  away  min- 
ute by  minute. 

"I  seem  to  have  picked  up  pretty  bad  news 
tnm  down  thera^*'  began  the  operator,  waving 
Ida  mesaage  aheet 

"You  mean  bad  news  for  met"  mildly  in- 
quired the  other,  with  a  languid  uplift  ol  Ma 
shaggy,  iron-grey  eyebrows.  The  two  men 
looked  directly  at  each  other  for  a  silent  mo- 
ment or  two.  MoKinnon  had  a  twofold  end  in 
▼lew,  and  Ida  line  of  advance  was  not  an  easy  i 
one* 


. .  ..^^  . 


146  THE  BULL-BAITEBS 


**Theie'8  been  hard  fli^iting  in  LooomlHa,"  he 
sloidy  asserted. 

Again  the  pajama-clad  figare  merely  nodded. 

"I've  picked  np  a  Savannah  liner  bonnd 
north;  she  relays  the  news  from  an  Atlas  fhut* 
er.  They've  got  this  re¥ohiti<m  of  Qaoky's  in 
foU  swing." 

The  speaker  did  not  allow  his  eyei  to  stray 
from  the  other's  face.  Yet  he  conid  still  de- 
tect no  nnnsnal  betrayal  of  concern.  Beyond 
the  spasmodic  and  habitnal  working  of  the 
heavy  iron-grey  eyebrows,  the  huddled  hulk  of  a 
body  in  the  steamer-chair  made  no  movem«it 
tbsl  could  be  interpivted  as  s  ngn  of  surprise. 

**TkKf  report  that  the  renrotntioiuury  focees 
nnder  De  Brigard  met  the  govemmeiil  fosees 
under  Ulloa  on  Tuesday." 

**  Where  t"  asked  the  other,  casually  enough. 

"It  was  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Puerto 
Loeombia;  De  Brigard  was  comroying  eight 
nomtakt-gQU  iq>  toivwdfai  CNuurl^pii*" 

If^g^MMwi  wtappeA  and  waited.  The  other 
man  slowly  took  his  cigar  from  his  lips  and 
looked  at  the  tattered  end.  Any  current  of  emo- 
tion that  may  have  been  awakened  in  him  re- 
mained shrouded  and  subterranean.  Whatever 
he  might  be,  concluded  McKinnon,  he  was  at 
least  a  ecasuumate  •etw. 

t^ymv*  Urn  siefii  mA  goardHl  %aie  4e- 


2CBE  BULL-BAIXEBS  147 


manded;  and  that  was  his  only  comment.  Mc- 
Kinnon  bent  over  as  though  to  consult  the  mes- 
sage-sheet 

**They  report  that  De  Brigard  has  pomicM 
his  way  through  the  Loo(Hiibiaii  lines  and  ocen- 
pied  Itzula." 

The  other  man  sat  down,  with  a  scarcely  audi- 
ble sigh,  in  the  broken  deck-chair  beside  him. 
There  T7as  an  appreciable  space  of  silence,  un- 
brtdran  except  for  the  breathing  of  the  two  mo- 
ticmless  figures. 

"Itnilar'  at  last  purred  the  black-coated 
man,  as  though  uncertain  of  the  name.  Then 
he  peered  down  at  his  slippered  toes  for  several 
meditative  seconds,  slowly  stretching  the  gross 
legs  clad  in  Chinese  silk.  McKinnon  knew  he 
was  digesting  his  vietorj,  hot  enlj  to  the  in- 
itiated oonld  the  moyemant  hare  been  intorpret- 
ed  as  the  very  core  and  essence  of  any  such 
luxurious  mental  easement.  Then  he  lodEsd  up 
and  repeated  the  word  ''Itzulaf" 

Before  McKinnon  could  realise  it  he  was  on 
his  feet. 

"(^  moment,*'  he  called  h&A  as  he  crossed 
th«  room. 

McKinnon  caught  np  a  message-aheet  and  in- 
tercepted     enemy  at  the  door. 

"I  w?.<^  )u  to  see  thiB  dispatch,"  he  said, 
catching  ■: .  Jie  other's  arm  and  talking  against 


148         rax  BULL-BAinSS 


time.  "I  want  you  to  understand  what  this 
*  Three-four-five-two — six  Refunfuno'  means. 
You'll  see  it  here  in  the  A  B  C  Telegraph  Code. 
It  means  'Bevolution  broken  out  here.'  I 
want  yon  to  see  it  for  /oureelf.  Then  yoiini 
know—** 

"I*m  taldog  your  word  for  it,  young  man," 
retorted  the  other  as  he  shook  his  arm  free  and 
started  through  the  door.  McKinnon  knew  it 
would  be  madness  to  try  to  hold  him  by  force. 

"What's  up,  anyway t"  he  asked  instead,  fol- 
lowing the  other  out  on  the  deck. 

"I've  got  a  map  of  that  country  down  in  my 
cabin,"  answered  the  huge  figure  in  the  Chi- 
n^ae  silk. 

"But  we  don't  need  your  map  I"  pertittad 
McKinnim. 

"I  guess  we  may  as  well  find  out  where 
they're  having  all  that  fun  we've  had  to  mi^s,** 
called  back  the  other  from  the  stair-head.  And 
he  was  gone  before  McKinnon  could  get  to  his 
side. 

The  operator  knew  only  too  well  what  the 
roan's  retam  to  his  cabin  meant  at  such  a  mo- 
ment. He  did  not  take  time  to  determine  in  his 
own  mind  the  cause  of  that  return,  whether  his 
enemy  had  suddenly  remembered  his  unlocked 
door  and  his  unguarded  papers,  or  whether 


..    .    ^■„'.>      -  ■  ^  I!.         •  ■ .      :  . 


THS  BULL-BAITEB8 


Bomething  had  cropped  up  to  arouse  his  sua- 

picions. 

But  McKmiioiiy  nifhoitt  a  momenl'B  loaa, 
Bprang  baek  into  hia  wireleaa-room  and  faced 
his  switch-lever.  He  threw  the  ebony  handle 
of  his  starting-box  down  across  the  contact-pins 
with  a  force  that  seemed  almost  to  explode  the 
dynamo  into  a  roar  of  droning  protest.  It  was 
like  the  burst  and  sonnd-nu.h  of  an  ascending 
n^tt  Then  hia  hand  darted  eat  to  hia  key 
and  he  broke  and  closed  the  great  current,  quick 
and  strong,  sending  the  hnge  Miie  spark  explod- 
ing from  Ids  coils  until  it  cannonaded  through 
the  closed  cabin  with  a  crash  and  throb  like  tiie 
quickened  thunder-daps  of  a  tropical  storm. 
Madly  he  repeated  the  call,  again  and  again, 
wondering,  as  he  feverishly  worked  the  key  in 
ttttt  one  brief  word  of  waning,  if  be  had  been 
too  late ;  praying,  as  the  moments  dragged  away 
and  nothing  broke  the  midnight  quietness  about 
him,  that  the  girl  in  the  cabin  below  bad  beard 
and  understood  his  warning. 

He  suddenly  began  to  reprove  himself  as  he 
stood  there  counting  oH  the  seeon^  and  lialeii- 
iag  to  the  intermiiiable  mailied  throb  of  <be  tu^ 
off  engines,  for  not  thinking  in  time,  for  not 
holding  Qanley  back,  even  though  it  had  to  be 
by  force.  Or  he  might  have  done  it,  he  felt, 
by  the  mere  pretense  of  some  fresh  message 


150  THE  BULL-BAITERS 


coming  in.  He  might  have  kept  him  there  for 
another  precious  five  minutes  if  he  had  only 
acted  as  a  man  in  his  place  ought  to  have  acted. 
But  he  had  missed  his  dianoe. 

Bt  crossed  to  his  open  diST  pMUsd  fhtre 
to  listen.  He  kaew  Oat  %f  Ais  tine  Ganky 
was  in  his  cabin,  and  that,  rmless  Alicia  Boyn- 
ton  had  caught  the  warning  signal,  she  had  al- 
ready been  trapped.  This  gross,  malevolent,  red- 
handed  enemy  of  whom  she  stood  in  such  fear 
must  already  have  confronted  and  caught  her. 
Tke  aere  thought  of  it  waatoo  nraeb  for  him. 

MeKiniMi  Parted  bade  to  his  ealihii»  remem- 
bering he  was  unarmed,  thndasf  el  tka  rtmlver 
tiiat  still  lay  in  his  trunk. 

But  something  in  the  quietness  of  the  mid- 
night ship  filled  him  with  some  sudden  keener 
sense  of  impending  disaster.  Without  the  loss 
el  another  sooeiid's  tima  ha  tmaadJBiddartad 
below  dads. 


CHAPTER  Xin 


YJU  BSUUVmD  OI0V1I9 

It  took  MeEinnon  but  half  a  minute  to  reach 
the  passageway  that  led  to  Ganley's  cabin.  He 
felt,  as  he  paused  for  an  instant  before  his  en- 
emy's closed  door,  that  his  entrance  into  the 
room  before  him  involved  a  final  and  unequivo- 
cal betrayal  of  bn  own  poaition.  Hia  Use  of 
advance  from  that  time  forward  ooqM  no  Ion- 
ger  be  the  circuitous  and  subterranean  one  he 
had  hoped  to  make  it.  The  contest  between  him 
and  Ganley,  thereafter,  would  have  to  be  open 
and  aboveboard. 

Then,  preparing  himself  for  the  scene  he  was 
to  face,  he  turned  the  knob  and  swung  open  the 
door. 

The  cabin  was  empty.  The  electric  lights 
were  turned  on,  the  disordered  berth  stood  be- 
fore him,  and  Oanley's  massive  pigskin  wallet 
lay  on  the  floor.  But  the  room  was  without  an 
occupant. 

MeKhiWow,  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  tsntd 


152     THE  BECOVEBED  QBOUND 


and  ran  to  fh«  leeoiid  door  farfhor  down  the 

passageway.  This  door,  he  rememhered,  led 
into  the  cahin  of  Alicia*  Boynton,  and  for  jnst  a 
second  or  two  he  hesitated  ahout  entering  it. 

Then  a  great  sense  of  gratitude  welled  np 
through  him,  for  as  he  stood  with  his  hand  still 
on  the  knob  the  sound  of  the  girl's  voice  came 
out  to  him.  He  had  no  time  to  resent  the  tnmnlt 
and  poignancy  of  this  newer  feeliiig,  for  it  waa 
the  woBian's  words,  and  not  her  voicOi  that  eo- 
erced  him  into  andden  attention.  **How  difo 
youT'  eried  the  voice  beyond  the  doaed  door. 

<*How  dare  yon  come  into  this  cabin!"  she 
was  crying.  McKinnon  could  hear  her  gasp  of 
what  might  have  been  either  indignation  or  inr 
creasing  fright. 

''This  is  a  little  dose  of  your  own  medidnei 
young  woman!" 

ItwaaOanley  whohadqMken.  Hiavoieewaa 
atill  low  and  nnhnrried.  It  aeemed  ahnost  caa- 
nal  in  its  studied  deliberateness.  Tet  it  held 
a  tremolo  of  restrained  passion  that  made  the 
deliberating  McKinnon  wait  there  for  a  min- 
ute or  two  with  his  hand  still  on  the  door-knob. 

It  was  Alicia  Boynton's  voice  that  sounded 
out  of  the  qnietnesa. 

**How  dare  yon!"  ahe  gaq^  acnin. 

'*Cat  oat  that  play-aetinf  and  ataad  btek 


THE  BECOVEBED  GROUND  153 


against  that  wall  there  I  Sol  Now  hand  ont 
that  Btnff  of  mine — every  line  and  rag  of  itl'" 

It  was  the  woman  who  spoke  next. 

'*I  have  nothing  to  hand  ont." 

''I'll  give  yon  ten  seconds,"  protested  Gan- 
Uif,  "111  give  yon  ttn  teeoodi  to  get  those 
papers  of  mine  into  my  hand  here,  every  shred 
of  'em!»» 

*'I  have  no  papers  of  yonrs,"  declared  the 
more  and  more  terrified  woman. 

"I'm  no  fool — I  saw  'em— I  caught  yon  at 
itl" 

"Win  yon  leave  my  cabinT" 

"Then  explain  what  yonVe  got  stuck  down 

your  waist  there  1" 

"It's  nothing  of  yours." 

"Hand  it  out,  or  I'll  rip  those  clothes  off 
your  back  I" 

"There's  nothing  to  hand  out" 

"Hand  it  ont~or  IH  blow  it  out!"  came  the 
kw-toned  threat,  driven  homo  with  an  oath. 

"I  can't,"  came  the  woman's  answer,  scaro»- 
ly  more  than  a  whisper. 

*'Hmd  it  cutr* 

Then  came  a  second  or  two  of  unbroken  si- 
lence. 

**7ou're  going  to  shoot!"  gasped  the  woman. 
It  was  only  too  eridant  that  Ganley  had  stepped 
^si^jji^wf  ^^^^ 


154     THE  BBOOVEBSD  OBOUKD 


<«No,"  he  Baid,  his  thick  voice  shakea  a  little 
with  his  doM^Mld  panioii.  **I*bi  not  going  to 
shoot  Bat  going  to  pound  yonr  lying  head 
in  with  this  giin-grip->I'm  going  to  pound  yoa 
till  your  own  mother  wouldn't  know  you  I" 

The  woman  uttered  a  little  cry,  not  shrill 
enough  to  be  a  scream,  not  low  enough  to  be 
called  a  moan.  It  was  then  that  the  waiting 
MoKinnon  swung  open  the  door  and  sprang  into 
the  room* 

He  was  barely  in  time  to  behold  the  infuri- 
ated Ganley,  with  his  heavy  black-handled  Colt 
revolver  held  by  its  barrel,  charge  on  the  girl, 
who  stood  with  her  back  against  the  cabin  wall. 
He  was  not  in  time  to  prevent  the  blow  that  fell 
on  the  girl's  out-thrust  forearm,  as  blindly  and 
instinetiTely  die  thrsir  it  np  to  gnard  her  heed. 
But  as  the  dnbtnng  gun-butt  raised  f <Hr  its  sec- 
ond fremied  blow  the  intruder  sprang.  As  he 
sprang  he  caught  the  swinging  revolver  in  his 
hand.  One  quick  movement,  one  twist  of  the 
levering  grip,  wrenched  it  free.  The  next  mo- 
ment McKinnon's  fingers  were  clamped  <m  QaSp 
ley's  fat  and  pendnlom  throat  and  he  had  the 
man  in  the  Uadc  n^^oat  thrust  flat  baek 
against  the  berth-edge,  gasping  for  breath,  paw- 
ing the  air  with  his  thick,  fat  hands. 

"You  buund,  to  treat  a  woman  like  that!" 
was  all  the  overwrought  MoKinnon  oould  say. 


TH£  BECOVEBED  QBOUND  155 


**1M  mt  Imaihe,  70a  fool!"  gtiped  Ganlej. 
"Let  BM  breather 

*'Yon  hound  r*  repeated  MoKixmon,  thrown 
into  a  primitive  and  nnreasoning  passion  of  fie> 
volt  against  the  brutality  of  the  scene. 

*'I  caught  the  she-cat — I  canght  her  red-hand- 
ed— I  caught  her  coming  through  my  door!" 
eried  Ganley,  getting  his  hrenth  agshu 

*'Arf  yon  hnrtf*  the  operator  demanded  of 
the  woman  still  motionleii  against  the  wnlL 

"No,**  she  answered. 

''Then  I'll  settle  this  with  the  gentleman  my- 
self, in  his  own  cabin,  or  in  the  captain  *8,  if  he 
prefers.*' 

Bot  QtoBikiy  was  on  his  feet  at  onee. 

"Nobody's  going  to  leave  this  room,"  he  de- 
dared  with  a  gavel-like  thud  of  an  oath.  "That 
woman's  lifted  documents  o'  mine  that  aren't 
going  to  get  out  o'  this  cabin." 

McKinnon's  less  primordial  instincts  were 
slowly  reasserting  themselves.  He  looked  from 
the  <nie  Ugan  to  the  other,  as  thoni^  mystified 
by  ^e  ease,  as  though  xaooeHua  of  the  eharges 
bdng  bandied  back  and  forth. 

"Who  is  this  womanf '*  he  demanded  of  Gan- 
ley  with  a  sudden  assumption  of  uncertainty. 

"Who  is  she  I**  cried  the  exasperated  Gan- 
ley.  "I  know;  ^ho  she  ist  and  she  knows  I 
knowt** 


156     THS  BEOOVl 


OBOUHD 


*'Have  you  anything  of  this  man's!"  McKin- 
non  deliberately  demanded  of  the  girl,  reali- 
sing that  his  intrusion  had  not  yet  amounted  to  a 
complete  betrayal  of  his  own  petition. 

The  upturned  gnse  of  the  giri  against  the 
wall  and  that  of  the  wireless  operator  met.  Gan- 
ley  moved  closer  to  the  door,  as  though  to  guard 
it.  No  one  ipoka  until  McKinnon  repeated  the 

question.   

"Yes,"  said  the  panting  and  punled  woman, 
**l  have  something  of  his." 

**Whal  U  itf "  mM  tht  oparator. 

"A  ilip  of  paper." 

*'Where  is  itt" 

**I  have  it,"  was  all  the  girl  answered. 

"Then  hand  it  out  to  me,"  ordered  Ganley. 

Her  eyes  were  still  on  McKixmon'i  ai  har 
hand  went  to  hat  bteart. 

"No,  hand  it  to  aw,"  interpowd  McKinnon 
aa  he  watdied  the  slowly  withdrawn  hand  that 
held  a  crumpled  sheet  of  white  paper.  The 
wide,  troubled  eyes  of  the  girl  turned  from  one 
man  to  the  other.  Then  she  opened  the  slip  of 
paper  and  glanced  down  at  it.  Ganley '•  band 
went  out  for  it  authoritativdy.  The  look  in 
MeKinnon'i  eyas  wm  eqnaBy  knparatim 

It  was  then  tiiat  the  g^rl  fell  back  a  step  or 
two  along  the  cabin  wall.  She  held  the  paper 
b«twaanh«rhands,as8hadidso.  Thaii,witha 


THE  BEOOVEBSD  WOUHP  M 

qnicsk  movement  of  her  trwnbling  fingers,  and 
before  either  of  the  men  oonld  atop  her,  the  tow 
the  aheet  in  two,  again  and  agaia. 

•'in  Ml  yott  for  tiMll"  aluikad  Chnlaj,  bit 
fam  oonlorltd  liko  •  wrMte's,  shaking  and 
twitching,  bat  not  moving  from  where  he  stood. 

MoKinnon,  with  the  Mvohrar  itill  in  hia  hand, 
stepped  between  them. 

<* There's  been  enough  of  this  prize»ring 
wo^'' he  oried  as  he  faced  Oanley.  *'Imik 
to  know  what  an  this  mataa.'* 

'«It  mmm  l*m  gdag  to  frt  «Mit  wmn,** 
panted  tha  oftar  naa,  Ilia  iMt  alQi  gnq^  p«>>- 
pie  with  rage. 

"How  get  hert»» 

"Ck*  her  in  irons,  wher^^  belongs." 
"I  atote  nothings"  intarmpte''^  he  white-faced 
gixi 

▲  tMt  of  inaipeatto  nmimja  treal  Itennih 
Memmw  aa  he  iimaabend  that  he  htoaaelf 
was  the  canse  of  this  last  nd  nnlov^  mm^ 

"She  lies  I"  Ganley  was  saying. 

"Hold  on  there  I"  said  MoKinr  va,  getting  r 
firmer  and  firmer  grasp  on  Inith  biiiiself  and  ib» 
situation.  "I  came  into  this  cabin  and  UmoA 
yott  beitfing  a  girl  qifir  iSb»  head,  fihiy  lAtl 
y«i*fa  fii  to  aay  abeot  ii  Hmk  toe  ^  mm 
say  what  she  has  to  say." 

Chtfdiy  atond  al  Ma  aalf'^ppetotod  |Bd^pa> 


158     THE  BECOVEBED  OfiODMD 


"An  yon  the  master  of  this  shipt"  he  de- 

"I'm  the  mattw  of  fhit  aitiiiilkm,**  eilmly 

replied  the  wireless  operator  with  a  pregnant 
npthmst  of  the  revolver  which  he  still  held  in 
his  hand.  *'And  before  onr  little  party  breaks 
up  I'm  going  to  understand  what  it  means." 

**Then  ask  this  woman  what  she  stole  from 
me." 

MeKhmoii  bad  to  fed  and  tMl  Ida  way  aa  he 

went,  like  a  man  on  fhia  iee. 

Yon  mean  for  the  woman  to  speak  first  r* 

''Tes,"  retorted  Qanley;  **aiid  she's  going  to 
do  more  thar  speak.*' 

McKinnon  tnmed  to  the  woman,  who  stood 
still  staring  at  him  in  unbroken  and  pnzzled  si- 

"Went"  IM  said  at  last. 

"What  mnst  I  explainf"  she  ftudly  asked, 
still  studying  his  face. 

"What  yon  oaxfied  oat  of  my  cabin,*'  an- 
swered Ganley. 

"Yon  want  me  to  explain  thatt"  she  asked, 
her  eyes  on  the  younger  man's  faoe. 

''Yes,"  aatweied  the  operator, 

*«M«t  I  ten  jMit**  affl  paM  tt»  periled 
woHiaWi 

"You  must,"  McKinnon  replied. 

"It  was  the  oontraet  made  between  this  man 


mm 


and  the  wireless  operator  of  this  ship/'  she  de- 
Ubemteiy  ansfrmd. 

"A  eontnwlf "  said  MdQmum. 

**It  was  the  agreement  fon  aSgnad  to  haeone 

a  partner  of  this  man." 

"And  you  tore  this  agreement  upt"  demand- 
ed McKinnon  with  an  assumption  of  incredibil- 
ity. He  waited  for  her  glance  of  intelligenoa 
to  show  him  that  she  had  oani^t  some  vagoa 
inUiiig  of  liU  podtkB,  of  tiia  attitada  of  armed 
aeatrality  he  was  strnfi^g  to  retain  in  ilial 
strange  tangle  of  intmita;  hot  aba  did  not  saeta 
to  nnderstand. 

*'You  saw  me  tear  it  up,**  she  replied,  won- 
dering in  turn  just  what  was  expected  of  her, 
anxious  not  to  endanger  him  by  any  foolish  mia- 
lAip  OB  har  part. 

"Wliyr'  adnd  MeKfnMB. 

"I  eoold  not  see  any  one  tied  to  A  muk  vlHifl 
hands  are  stained  with  blood.*' 

Oanley  laughed  a  heavy  and  mirthless  laugh, 
as  though  resenting  the  theatricality  of  the 
woman's  phrase. 

*<1%at'a  a  hdl  of  a  reason!"  ha  mumbtod  is 
his  solltB  gwttaral. 

**l  did  it  beema  I  know  what  this  man  is,** 
went  on  the  woman,  taming  her  slow  aad  p«h 
lied  stare  from  the  operator  to  Oanley. 

MeKiniimi,  now  in  parf aot  oontrol  of  himself, 


llO     THE  BECOVEBED  GBOUND 

wheeled  riMwt  to  th«  ColmnbiiiriilM  flgw  fai  tht 

biMk  nuneoat  and  the  Chinese  silk  pajaman. 

"You  are  Richard  Daffy,  acting  with  the  Con- 
solidated Fmit  Concern  and  the  authorities  at 
Waithington  for  the  capture  of  a  man  named 
Gaaky,  are  you  notf  *' 

*'I  Ml,"  anawifed  tlie  maa  In  Um  raiaeoat, 
doggedly  facing  the  young  woman.  MeKimioa 
could  see  her  lip  podur  iq>  wUh  ila  little  earl 
of  unspeakable  scorn. 

"The  man  lies  1"  said  the  girl  in  her  calm  and 
deliberate  tones.  "This  man  is  Qanl^y,  'King- 
maker  Qanley/  himself  I" 

The  man  in  the  raincoat  once  more  lani^ied 
hie  eaHenly  deriahe  langk  Y&%  emUmp^iaiam 
defianee  eeemed  to  nettle  and  anger  the  woman 
into  more  coherent  thought.  When  ibe  ipoke 
next  she  uttered  her  wordi  mora  iaauMfyt  mma 
quickly. 

"This  man,**  and  her  scorn  waa  infbite,  "is 
the  bnnard  ci  the  trofnoe,  the  ereatare  wlie 
waits  and  wataiMs  over  siflit  wyfcHaa,  wIm 
prowls  about  altar  dyiaf  go^FanHMBli  la  fUt 

their  bones  1" 

*'7ou'ra  eraiy  r*  seeffed  tha  siB  alia  «■§  aa- 

ensing. 

"He's  called  'Kaiser  Oanley,'  the  gnn- run- 
ner, 'Pasha  Qanley,'  the  agent  of  every  Centnrt 
Amarinaw  pttriali*'  ^  oontiwadL  "8t'i  Uli 


THE  BECOVEBED  GROUND  W 


fighter  who  nertr  odmes  to  do  Mi  own  fighting. 
He  'b  the  man  who  sucks  his  living  ont  of  a  UiB^ 
ed  and  ignorant  people's  gun- wounds." 

"She  liesl"  declared  Qanley,  blinking  up  at 
If oKinnon  indifferentlj,  as  though  to  note  th« 
effoet  of  her  word*  m  Ubl 

**He  drug!  these  ■hnple  miiiiltd  ptofil*  with 
war  talk  and  blinds  them  with  tiM  gutter  of  a 
little  gilt  braid,"  went  on  the  woman,  with  ia^ 
creasing  bitterness.  "Then  be  turns  and  roba 
them.  And  there  he  is,  the  colleague,  the  inti- 
mado  you  have  found,  the  man  who  made  a  tool 
of  Juan  Parra  and  aMwrdwd  him  or  had  Mm 
arardered  ia  fta  awampa  <rf  ttw  MafailsiM,  tta 
Bum  who  was  given  twriva  hours  to  make  hia 
way  out  of  Brazil,  the  man  that  even  Zelaya 
refused  to  stand  by.  He  is  the  upholder  of  tiie 
weak  who  shipped  twenty-five  thousand  rounds 
of  aminnnition  into  Looonbia,  embedded  in  lard, 
md  tmtAr-^i  haairad  earbteoi  aad 


of  dynamite  that  want  oil  if  If  oinle  as  land  f  er 
HHser  for  the  Costa  Rioaa  coffee  plantatioat. 

The  man  in  the  raincoat,  who  had  been  squat- 
ting eonteraptuoQsiy  on  the  berth-edge,  swung 
iofwtri  to  bis  feet  at  this.  His  maay-liaed, 
Imff,  lal  Ite  M  laat  its  eoiaar  Mtii  il  fi' 


162     THE  BECOVEBED  GBOUND 


eoily.  "He  even  eoafMset  it  is  true.  It  snr- 
prises  him  that  I  should  know  bo  mnob.  Bat 
there  are  other  things  I  know.  I  know  that  he 
was  the  instigator  of  the  Orinoco  Colonisation 
f  rands.  I  know  he  was  once  a  Cuban  blockade- 
runner,  and  once  an  agent  of  Don  Carlos,  the 
Spanish  pretotder.  I  know  that  he  was  a  gnn 
gmnggkr  ^  Balkun  at  MHM  ttei  Ihii 
1m  wtm  hfbig  BMie  a  ptifaft  by  hit  idcai,  #m 

9m  fmomi  §m  hwmHh  and  pdaM  muMa^ 

ly  at  her  enemy's  itot,  tiiiek  ftipM  at  ftqr 

dowly  clenched  and  unclenched. 

**Lo€k  at  his  hands  and  yon  will  see  1  He  want 
to  Lhassa  in  the  pay  of  a  Russian  secret  agent 
And  they  caught  him  and  crucified  him  on  one 
of  their  o(mvent  walls — they  nailed  him  there 
throai^  tlia  haaii.  Toa  aM  tta  flw  aMtkal 
He  eaat  Ha  mm$  asnqr,  Iba  1m  hmm  Am 
twehre  hoora  miM  a  tribeanan  set  him  free  and 
spirited  him  aoross  the  foantitr.  And  this  ia 
the  great  soldier  who  fiave  yoa  money  " 

Oanley  once  more  broke  ia  on  har  at  aha 
stopped  to  pant  for  brea^ 

"These  are  a  pack  o'  lies!"  he  cried,  and  hk 
wdm  wm  raipiBg  aai  fatatd,  aa  ihoai^  ft  aa- 
^|iAmi4  a  pMal  ailni  fcr  Idai  ta  aMv  tfia  wipii* 
**flm$  mm  al  daanad  BmI*' 


THE  BECOVEBED  OBOUMD  168 

pointed  to  the  little  partidet  d 
white  paper  scattered  abont  the  floor. 

''And  that  was  not  an  ag^^eement  with  this 
manf*'  she  derisively  asked. 

**TUb  mm  made  8&  affrwu^t  with  me,  a& 
ojpm  and  honett  afreamaii*' 

''Honest!"  interpolated  the  scornful  woman. 

"And  he  had  the  right  of  saying  yes  or  no 
to  it  He's  past  the  age  of  bains  wet-nimed 
into  what  he  wants  to  do." 

"Then  he  had  the  right  to  know  what  he  was 
tfod  ^  with,"  parried  the  noffing  wonaa. 

flfil  tea  the  ri^t  ci  Myiiif  jmorno 
to  that  agrooBiBt,"  declared  Oanley  as  ba 
bronght  his  great,  msset-colonred  hand  down 
on  the  berth-edge  with  a  sudden  blow.  "Bat 
whc  t's  he  to  yon,  anyway!" 

She  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of  the  two 
mm  Mora  h&r.  Bat  Ifiighmffli  gsfo  htt  no 
ebneotorapiy.  ThemomeBtboliadboMiinilt- 
ing  for  had  already  arrived. 

"I've  had  enough  of  this,"  he  said  as  he  held 
his  hand  ont  towards  the  sullen-faced  Qanley. 
In  this  outstretched  hand  was  a  roll  ol  bills  htid 
together  by  a  rubber  band. 

*'WlMit*ii  >* 

"B'h  jmt  moaoyr  add  liflSnoB. 
"I  wont  take  it!"  retortod  ote. 
"Too  wont  takoitf" 


164     THE  BBOOVBBBD  QROUKD 


"Not  until  yon  show  me  a  reason  why  we 
should  split"  He  jerked  a  oontemptnons  thumb 
towards  the  staring  woman.  <*And  I  don't  call 
that  a  reason!" 

"The  whole  thing's  too  Ua^^M  up  for  mt," 
eqniyoMted  the  operator. 

"Thcrt'a  so  taag^  when  il'i  parid  down  to 
thetmtlL'* 

"But  wt  eaii*t  argiM  about  that  all  night,  and 

IVe  got  my  key  to  atto&d  lo»"  complained  tho 
watdifnl  McKinnon. 

A  new  look  of  anxiety  flashed  across  the  other 
man's  face  at  the  mention  of  the  key.  It  was  a 
flash,  and  nothing  more. 

"Then  you  beiieve  what  she  saysf"  asked 
Ganley  more  soberly,  looking  from  the  paper- 
littered  floor  to  the  woman  still  standing  mo- 
tionkia  agaiiwl  tlia  cabin  wall. 

"You  haven't  disproved  it,"  said  the  operas 
tor  with  a  gesture  of  simulated  bewilderment. 

"I'm  proving  and  disproving  nothing,"  was 
Ganley 's  reply.  ' '  I  haven 't  been  doing  the  talk- 
ing. I'm  not  the  talking  kind.  Bat  I've  come 
into  touch  with  this  kind  o*  woman  bofofo.  I 
know  her,  and  iho  and  bar  wbolo  gang  oant 
hoodwink  me/" 

"Wellf "  said  McKinnon  a  little  impatiently. 

"Oh,  !'?•  known  her  ovtr  ainoe  iha  hitohod 


7HS  BECOVEBED  OBOUND  166 

np  with  that  orooM        iBiaiirioii  knl» 

oalled  Boynton." 

"Stop!"  cried  the  giri. 

"For  three  years  now  she's  been  a  feeder  for 
that  one-lunged  climber,  that  Yankee  renegade 
wbo^i  beat  trying  to  poM  m  a  Spaniard. 
They 're  the  team  who  w«Bl  down  yondar  a 
cooked  up  claim  on  fbe  ChtnunMha  BiM«f 
Treaty  territory." 

"Stop!"  cried  the  indignant  girl,  more 
shrilly.  The  scene  in  some  way  reminded  Mo- 
Kinnon  of  a  meeting  between  a  cat  and  a  mas- 
tiif.  More  and  mora  be  grew  to  meiit  ilie  fael 
that  this  fragile  and  iaolated  %nre  iMd  bo 
dragged  through  such  d«naning  mires  of 
acnrrility.  But  Ganley  was  not  to  be  stopped. 

"And  when  they'd  wrung  their  money  out  of 
that,"  he  declared,  "they  dished  up  a  Locom- 
bian  nitrate  claim  and  drained  that  dry.  And 
1^  that  waa  pidnd  daan  tbegr  wheoM  th«r 
way  into  Dnran'a  good  giaoei.  And  ^mb,  to 
dnoh  her  graft,  this  woman,  thia  pink-and-whte 
beauty  right  here  before  you,  married  a  Santo 
Domingan  half-caste  filibuster  who'd  made  » 
half  million  out  of  brandy  mnggiing  mud  ooun- 
terfeitingl'* 


CHAPTEB  XJy 

sn  FnuDo  fioiCM 

A  wATi  of  something  that  WM  ▼tgiidy  ^ 
heartesiing,  that  was  ahnost  nauseating,  swept 

through  McEinnon.  It  left  him  momentarily 
dazed,  as  men  are  dazed  with  that  forlomest 
sickness  which  follows  a  seismic  upheavaL  He 
felt  as  thoni^  tfaa  deck  under  his  fstt  had 
qpoied  and  tet  1dm  down  into  iiie  deptts  of  a 
chilling  sea.  lissidioasly  and  almost  nnwittii^ 
ly  he  had  grown  to  beliitire  that  this  unbef  riend- 
ed  and  lonely  woman  was  in  some  way  very 
dose  to  him.  Little  by  little  he  had  come  to 
accept  the  hope  that  they  might  draw  even  closer 
*  together,  that  the  exigencies  of  warfare  mig^t 
mdra  their  pallia  Mfiitf^l. 

But  as  he  stood  Usteaiaf  to  Ganlay'a  ten- 
dered declaration  thart  swept  through  him  the 
impression  ot  being  engnlfed  and  suffocated  in 
fogs  of  duplicity,  of  being  entangled  in  endless 
webs  of  lies  and  intrigues  and  counter-intrigues. 
He  felt  suddenly  oppressed  and  disturbed  by  a 


PYBBHIO  VIOIOB  W 


■MM  of  miloohid-for  and  midiftied  oontpim- 
cIm  bcjond  60MpifMiM|  of  towfldtriiig  ondlip 
■enitable  foroes  at  play  all  aboat  him. 
"Is  this  tmot"  ho  dMuadod  of  iht  wMa 

before  him. 

His  question  was  almost  a  prayer  for  its  own 
denial.  He  conid  see  that  the  scene  through 
which  she  had  passed  had  sorely  taxed  her 
ftrMgth.  Sho  WM  no  loagtr  a  girl,  but  a  worn- 
m  who  had  knows  and  oooflraiited  Ufa. 

"Is  this  tmef "  he  repeatad,  and  even  as  he 
asked  it  he  felt  that  whatever  part  she  might 
be  playing  in  that  crowded  drama  he  would  in 
the  end  be  compelled  to  stand  by  her. 

"No/'  whispered  the  woman,  white  to  her 
lips.  "It  ia  not  trao." 

"Have  yon  a  hotedf 

"No,"  she  still  iMWored  in  her  low  voice. 
The  monosyllablo  was  emotionless,  yet  ho  oookl 
see  by  her  face  that  she  was  sa£Fering. 

Ganley  l&nghed  outright  It  wm  not  a  pleaa- 
Mt  laugh. 

"And  yoa  novor  maniod  a  mtagf,  Malf-OMlo 
diam<nid-wiailBf  Santo  Doidagn  aoMd  0o 
Ponrattaf "  doMmdod  ^  oMn  as  h&mk 
edge. 

"I  married  aman  named  Perralta,"  answered 
th«  woman  slowly,  her  unwavering  «yes  on  Mc- 
Kinnon  as  she  spoke. 


m       THE  PYBSHXC  VICTOB 


'•Tkm  it  k  tmt"  A  nolt  oT  iiM^Mtej 

query. 
''Yes,"  she  answered. 

'*Bat  you  hav*  juit  itid  yoa  had  no  hna- 

bandr' 

*'He  was  dragged  from  the  carriage  half  aa 
hour  after  tht  Mrvmony/' 
"What  eenmonyt" 

"After  our  marriage.  I  have  not  seen  him 
since  that  day.  Stvoi  weakt  latar  he  diad  of 
yellow  fever." 

"And  tell  why  he  was  dragged  from  Hiat 
carriage, "  prompted  Ganley,  with  his  gnttorml 
and  mirtUeaa  langh,  aa  be  saw  tha  woman'a 
wide  cyaa  watching  him  doady,  almoat  ehal- 
langingly. 

**Hc  had  shot  the  wife  of  a  government  offi- 
cial named  Ourmanito,  in  Bogota,"  she  an- 
swered in  her  listless  monotone.  ''That  was 
only  one  of  other  things." 

"Other  things  whkh  mada  hhn  almort  worthy 
of  the  family  he'd  marriad  into,"  interpolated 
the  scoffing  Oanky,  in  Inxnrioas  appradatiMi 
of  her  misery. 

McKinnon  conid  see  that  she  was  shaking, 
that  her  whole  body  was  quivering.  When  she 
spoke  again,  hurriedly,  her  voice  was  higher  in 
pitch,  as  though  the  atndn  upon  har  waa  beooafr- 


IBS  PYBfiHIO  VIOTOE  M 


iag  a  tMiiMi  ite  mid  m  loifir  mM 

"I  have  never  ipokwii  of  tliMO  thingi,"  the 
•aid  in  her  tremnlons  soprano,  fadng  McKin- 
non,  "bat  I  want  yon  to  nndentand.  It  was 
three  years  ago,  when  I  was  little  more  than 
a  schoolgirl.  I  was  under  a  great  debt  of  g»tl> 
tade  to  thb  man  who— to  thia  maa  Perralta.  I 
bad  been  left  in  cart  of  tkt  Amerimn  Gonial 
at  La  Ooayra;  I  had  taken  aa  English  steam- 
ship to  Venezuela,  after  two  ]rears  in  a  French 
school.  I  was  to  re-embark  from  La  Gnayra 
for  Puerto  Locombia,  but  quarantine  was  estab- 
lished on  account  of  bubonic  plague,  before  I 
eonld  get  away.  I  had  to  ]!▼•  at  tiM  eoaaalala 
oa  abort  ratioaa—tiM  Amerkiaa  aeami  bad  va> 
fased  the  demand  of  the  VenezuelaB  Oovem- 
ment  for  a  certificate  that  La  Ouayra  was  free 
of  the  plague.  He  and  his  family  were  taken 
off  by  a  United  States  gunboat,  the  Paducah, 
and  I  would  have  been  sent  to  the  detention 
aamps,  had  it  aot  btoa  for  tMa  budi  PMiHa." 

'*Qo  mV*  imHaptid  tht  o^Mr,  aa  abo  paaatd. 
'*Ha  aacmed  a  gantlonan  then,  and  had 
money  and  influence.  He  played  his  part  well. 
He  leased  a  seagoing  tug  and  had  me  and  my 
oompanion,  a  young  German  wgman,  carried 
out  of  the  infected  district  After  we  had 
passed  tht  aoeaaaary  period  of  ^rawtiaa,  for 


17Q        THE  PTBBHIC  VIOTOB 


observation,  in  fhe  English  hospital  at  George- 
tows,  he  was  there,  waiting  for  ns.  I  was  weak 
and  ill— I  think  it  was  of  eoaat-fever.  He 
bribed  or  bonght  over  the  German  woman,  I 
don't  know  how.  I  was  tricked  into  a  ceremony 
I  did  not  understand.  I  scarcely  knew  what  to 
do  when  I  found  out.  But  it  was  decided  for 
me— he  was  dragged  from  the  carriage  as  he 
sat  beside  me.  .....  I  tell  you  all  this 

because — ^because  I  want  3^011  to  understand." 

"I  do  understand,''  answered  McEinnon. 

''And  is  that  allt"  asked  Qaol^,  with  his 
careless  sneer. 

"Yes;  that  is  all,"  she  answered.  The  in- 
solence of  the  gross-Umbed  gon-nmner  was  like 
a  whip-lash  to  MeSiDiMm. 

"And  is  that  all  on  yonr  sidet"  he  asked, 
with  a  sudden  movement  of  disgust. 

^'Not  by  a  long  shot!"  retorted  the  man  in 
the  raincoat,  with  unlooked-for  energy.  "I 
want  later  history  than  all  this.  I  want  to  know 
just  what  this  woman's  got  of  mine." 

has  eipUuned  that  she  took  this  paper," 
rq^ied  the  ottor,  pointing  to  the  littered  eaUa 
floor. 

"What  do  I  care  what  she  said,  or  says,  or 
is  going  to  say.  Tou've  got  to  show  me— I'kn 
from  Missouri!" 

McKinnon  pondered  the  situation.  It  was 


THE  PYERmC  VTCTOB  171 


plain  that  Ganley  had  regained  his  self-control, 
that  he  conid  no  longer  be  counted  on  to  act  with 
the  unthinking  directness  of  the  outraged  sav- 
age he  had  seemed. 

''There's  a  very  simple  wtLj  to  settle  this 
problem,"  McKinnon  suggested.  ''Well  lode 
this  cabin,  so  nothing  in  it  can  be  interfered 
with.  The  three  of  us  will  step  into  your  cabin. 
You'll  then  go  through  your  belongings,  these 
documents  and  papers  of  yours,  and  I'll  check 
them  off  as  you  do  so,  one  by  one.  It  will  be 
easy  enough  to  tell  then  if  anything  ig  missiiig.*' 

The  proposal  aroused  no  aithnriann  in 
Ganley. 

"This  is  not  the  hour  o'  night  I  care  to  go 
into  the  general-auditing  business,"  was  his 
reply. 

"Nor  altogether  the  hour  of  night  for  keep- 
ing a  young  lady  out  of  her  bed!" 

Oaaley  peered  at  flie  qieaker  for  Mvend 
seconds  before  replying. 

"I  like  to  see  you  being  nice  and  consider- 
ate," he  said  at  last,  with  his  mild  and  studied 
laugh.  "And  I  imagine  you  enjoy  being  judge 
and  jury  in  a  case  like  this.  And  I  also  im- 
agine, just  beeanie  this  woman'i  flashed  her 
lamps  at  yon  a  eonple  o'  times,  that  yonVe  got 
an  idea  that  she^s  all  right  and  Vm  all  wrong. 
You've  both  ocmdnded  that  this  little  talk-fert 


172        THE  FYBBHIO  VIOTOB 


has  settled  the  whole  case.  Bat  it  hasn't.  And 
I  guess  it's  not  going  to." 

He  rose  to  his  feet  heavQy  and  slowly  and 
thongfatfollyy  and  then  turned  to  McKinnon. 

"Bemember,  I'm  not  trying  to  hold  you  in 
any  way.  You're  free.  You  can  do  what  you 
like.  But  if  anything  unexpected  should  hap- 
pen, just  bear  Ia  mind  I  gave  you  a  diance  to 
stand  in  with  me,  and  yon  wouldn't  take  it!" 

"Is  that  a  threat?"  asked  McElnnon. 

** Threats?  "Why  should  I  make  threats? 
Talking's  cheap,  and  there's  been  a  good  deal 
of  it  handed  round  here  to-night.  And,  as  you 
say,  we've  rather  tired  the  lady." 

There  was  no  longer  any  trace  of  mockery 
in  his  voice  as  he  drew  himself  up  and  spoke 
more  direetly  to  the  yoonger  man. 

"And  now  I'm  going  to  turn  in.  But  don't 
yon  forget  that  I'm  still  trying  to  be  a  friend 
o'  yours!" 

know  it!"  said  the  younger  man,  meeting 
his  eyes  without  flinching. 

"Then  there's  nothing  we  need  to  worry 
abont,"  declared  Ganley.  And  before  the  other 
quite  realised  it  the  man  in  the  black  raincoat, 
with  a  benevolent  and  all-forgiving  arm-wave, 
crossed  the  room  to  the  cabin  door.  No  one 
spoke  as  he  passed  out  through  it  and  closed 
it  after  him. 


THE  FTBBHIC  VICTQB  178 


It  was  the  watching  and  motionless  woman 
who  finally  emitted  a  little  gasp  in  wfaieh  anger 
seemed  to  override  astonishment.  Her  com- 
panion was  startled  by  the  look  of  bewilder- 
ment, mounting  almost  to  open  distrust,  that 
crept  slowly  over  her  face.  There  seemed  to 
be  something  akin  to  pitying  contempt  in  her 
eyes  as  she  slowly  tamed  about  and  gazed  at 
him. 

''What  does  this  meanf '*  she  demanded. 

"Does  what  meanf  he  parried,  disttuM  by 
the  hostility  of  her  gaze. 

"The  way  you  have  played  into  Ganley's 
hand — the  way  you  have  sacrificed  everythhig 
for  your  own  safety!" 

'*Bnt  nothing  has  been  saerificed/'  persisted 
the  nnhappy  MeEinBon. 

**I  have  been  saerificed— you  have  watched 
him  humiliate  me — ^yon  have  helped  him  to 
humiliate  me!" 

"It  was  hard  to  bear,  I  know.  But  it  could 
not  be  helped.  It's  a  part  of  the  price  we  have 
to  pay  for  oar  victory.  It's  a  part  I  woold 
have  borne  myself,  a  thousand  times  over  'i  I'd 
only  been  able." 

"The  price  for  what  victory!"  she  demanded. 

"The  victory  we  wanted;  the  thing  we*ve 
been  working  for,  all  along.  It's  settled— and 
he  doesn't  even  understand  it's  settled!" 


174       THB  PYBraiO  VIOTOB 


"Yes;  it's  settled,"  she  echoed,  unhappily. 

"Bat  this  letves  ns  f^!" 

''Ton  do  not  kaow  this  man  as  I  do,"  waa 
her  answer. 

"But  it's  over— we're  through  with  himi*' 

"JJe  16  not  through  with  usi" 

''But  what  can  he  do,  when  once  I've  got  in 
touch  with  the  Ptincetonf" 

She  looked  aboat  the  small  eabis,  from  side 
to  side,  f  oralomly.  It  was  the  first  time  MoESn- 
non  had  seen  actual  fear  in  her  eyes.  He  even 
felt  that  she  had  been  vaguely  weighing  the 
place's  possibilities  against  assault. 

"Are  you  afraid f"  he  asked,  not  compre- 
hending the  source  of  her  distrust.  She  shook 
her  head  in  negation. 

"This  is  an  American  ship/'  was  her  answer. 

"Then  what  is  itf"  he  asked,  oppressed  by 
some  new-bom  isolation  of  spirit  that  barred 
and  walled  him  away  from  her. 

Again  that  look  of  almost  contemptuous  pify 
crept  into  her  eyes. 

"I'm  afraid  of  you/'  die  repUed;  **l*m 
afraid  <d  the  future,  and  how  you  will  sorelf 
fail." 

There  was  no  sign  of  tears  in  her  eyes,  though 
he  had  felt,  from  her  voice,  that  an  outburst  was 
imminent.  Tet  he  found  it  hard,  cruelly  hard, 
to  meet  her  open  and  unwavering  glance. 


THB  P7BBHI0  VIOTOB  379 


"Why  havo  you  treated  me  like  thief she 
asked  him,  ahnost  without  emotion.  *  *  Have  /on 
nothing  to  say,  nothing  to  explain  t" 

Me^smon  did  not  aniww  for  a  monMnt  <Hr 
two. 

can't  explain,'*  he  said,  at  last,  his  face 
distorted,  under  the  strong  aide-lii^  nith  Mne 
nnuttered  miaery  of  sioxiti 


wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 


CHAPTEBXV 

TBI  Z.Y7LL  nr  ZBl  flOBK 

It  waL  iiot  imtil  the  Laminian  was  well  down 
off  the  coast  of  San  Salvador  that  she  rode  into 
Mttled  weather.  Then,  in  a  night,  she  seemed 
to  emerge  from  a  world  ^^f  wind  and  nnreet  and 
tmnnlt  into  a  world  oi  ^  '.coding  quietness.  As 
she  crept  on,  forging  ever  southward  nnder  the 
high-arching  azure  sky,  this  sense  of  quietness 
and  completion  grew  deeper.  The  air  became 
warm  and  soft.  The  sun  streamed  down  on  the 
patdied  awnings,  on  the  worn  deck  that  seoned 
bone-white  in  the  flat,  strong  lig^t  of  noo^  'tr. 
Through  the  ventilators,  all  day  long,  cat:  .  " 
purposeful  throb  and  beat  of  the  en^jr 
muffled,  like  the  throbbing  of  a  great  heart. 
There  seemed  something  inevitable  and  ordered 
in  that  unhurried  and  undeviating  pulse,  as 
though  the  ship  and  all  she  carried  were  ioiwm 
at  peace  with  the  world. 

A  passenger  or  two  moved  slowly  about  the 
level  decks  or  sat  listless  in  the  dark  shade  of 

m 


THE  LULL  IN  THB  8T0BM  177 

the  canvas,  listening  to  the  plaintive  hiss  of  the 
ihip'a  bow  as  it  parted  the  tnrqaoise  sea  into 
two  widening  simitara  of  curling  foam.  Cinders 
rained  gently  down  on  the  slowly  flapping  awn- 
injgSi  on  the  bone-white  deck  boards  steaming 
with  sea-water  sprayed  from  a  leaking  hose  in 
a  foolish  effort  to  keep  their  cracks  from  widen- 
ing, on  the  eddying  and  milk-white  trail  behind 
the  threshing  screw.  From  somewhere  forward 
the  bells  aoonded  oat,  lazily,  sadly,  ghostlike, 
as  though  recording  time  in  a  worid  where  all 
things  slept.  The  ship's  brasswork  flashed  and 
burned  in  the  h'^t  light.  From  the  silence  of  the 
bow,  at  times,  ca  ne  the  sound  of  a  calling  voice, 
mournful  and  measured.  Naked-shouldered 
atokers,  blanched  and  wet  with  sweat,  crept  out 
to  the  mid-deek  raO  and  let  the  draft  that  al- 
lied along  the  companionways  oool  their  mdrt 
skin.  Now  and  then  a  flying-fish  rose  and  oil*, 
ded  away,  off  the  bow,  and  fell  shimmering  back 
into  the  turquoise  sea.  Piloting  the  ship's  cut- 
water, ever  raced  and  dodged  a  band  of  por- 
poises. Now  and  then  a  creeping  dorsal  fin  cut 
the  snrfaoe  of  the  water  and  shmk  away  again. 
It  seemed  to  impart  something  ominous  and  sin- 
ister to  the  unreKeved  brilliance  of  the  ardiing 
sky.  It  left  the  oily  and  unruffled  sea  **mnsfl***g 
and  cadaverous-like  in  its  calm. 
The  ship  crept  on,  the  centre  of  its  drde  of 


178     THS  LULL  IN  THE  STOBH 


water  orerhnng  by  its  circle  of  sky.  Along  fhe 
flat  fringe  of  this  sky  were  ranged  low  tiers  of 
cmnulos  donds.  They  seemed  as  fixed  and  or- 
derly as  the  donds  on  a  painted  stage-drop; 
they  stood  like  floating  flecks  of  eoitcm,  maUng 
a  circling  amphitheatre  of  the  lonely  sea. 
And  in  the  ever-shifting  centre  of  this  amphi- 
theatre throbbed  and  pnlsed  the  thing  of  flash- 
ing brass-work  and  bone-white  decks,  of  sadly 
flapping  awnings,  of  qniet  men  with  watching 
and  melandioly  faces,  of  a  world  complete  in  ii- 
sdf.  As  the  long  afternoon  waned  and  the  mm 
dipped  behind  the  orange-red  sky-line  and  the 
light  passed  away,  the  orderly  and  sentinel 
lamps  were  hnng  ont  Along  the  pitted  side- 
plates  writhed  blurred  lines  of  phosphoms. 
The  sea  became  a  drde  of  inlr^  blackness  fur- 
rowed by  two  ghostly  lines  of  foam.  The  sky 
mdted  into  a  maie  of  Vdvet  and  lonely  lii^i- 
points.  Along  the  shadowy  liatdies  sat  and 
crooned  vaguely  outlined  groups  of  seamen, 
and  from  somewhere  below  decks  rose  the  sound 
of  string-music,  mournful,  outlandish,  toudied 
with  mystery,  as  tiie  londy  ship  and  the  huddled 
lives  she  sheltered  drifted  farther  and  farther 
southward. 

The  outward  sense  of  peace  that  brooded  over 
the  LaminiaH  was  not  shared  by  oertun  of  her 
passengers.  Alida  Boynton,  after  a  feverish 


SHE  LX7LL  IN  THE  8T0BM  179 


nigbt  and  a  day  in  her  berth,  emerged  from  her 
oabin  a  little  paler  than  before,  with  a  soft  hol- 
low of  anxiety  under  either  caoek-bone.  But 
otberwiie  she  ihowid  no  lifn  of  th«  ordeal 
throng  which  she  had  panad,  or  of  Hm  duuMi 
of  uncertainty  whioh  e^  confronted  her. 

McKinnon's  own  nights,  since  Hatteras  had 
been  left  behind,  had  been  equally  unsettled. 
His  restless  and  broken  sleep  was  disturbed  by 
dreama  wherein  he  thought  he  was  engulfed  in 
boniing  qoidcHuidi,  and  hold  fitt  fhon^  what 
he  ought  to  be  at  hia  key.  The  mort  ]m  atnig>- 
gled  and  raged  to  reach  his  instrument,  jnit  bo- 
yond  his  touch,  the  more  firmly  the  engulfing 
quicksands  seemed  to  hold  him.  Then  troubled 
visions  of  firing-squads  and  blindfolded  pris- 
oner! of  war  would  run  through  his  brain,  of 
da]^-skinned  little  soldiers  in  ragged  denim 
shouting  bravas  to  a  beantiftil  woman  in  navy 
blue,  of  imprisonment  in  a  nnall  and  fetid 
quartel,  or  huge,  red-handed  conspirators  and 
drunken  and  cursing  ship-captains.  In  his  wal; 
ing  hours  he  was  oppressed  by  a  continued  sense 
of  8iiq;>aided  action,  like  that  ominous  impres- 
aion  whudi  oreqM  ov«r  •  ship  iHien  her  enginea 
atqs  in  mid-ocean. 

The  drama  about  him  seemed  at  a  standitiU. 
But  only  too  well  he  knew  that  this  suspense 
vaa  for  the  tune  being  alone.  It  was  not  peace 


180     THE  LULL  IN  THS  8T0BM 


into  which  they  were  drifting.  Things  had  gone 
too  far  for  a  long-oontinned  armistioe^  And 
the  longer  a  tmee  waa  maintainad,  M eKhmon 
felt,  the  more  decisive  would  be  the  final  action. 
Events  were  merely  framing  themselves  for 
that  ultimate  surprise  which  he  was  hopeless 
to  forecast.  He  was  oppressed  by  the  feeling 
of  vague  conspiracies  being  enwoven  about  him. 
>What  these  ooiiq;»inMiei  were,  he  oonld  not  eveii 
guess. 

His  one  escape  from  this  wearing  sense  of 
arrested  action  lay  in  his  key  and  recorder.  At 
all  times  of  the  day  he  worked  busily  at  his  ap- 
paratus or  brooded  patiently  over  his  tuner  and 
coherer.  Morning,  noon,  and  night  he  remained 
on  the  lookont  for  any  word  that  might  creep 
in  to  him.  And  all  the  while  he  k^t  calling, 
doggedly,  hoping  against  hope  to  get  in.tondi 
with  the  Princeton  or  ait  least  to  pick  np  some 
stray  ship  or  station.  He  came  to  feel  some- 
thing forlorn,  something  poignant,  in  his  re- 
peated calls,  fluttering  out  and  dying  away  un- 
answmred  in  those  vagoe  etherio  wildemessea 
between  a  londy  sea  and  a  lonely  sky.  They 
seemed  to  endow  the  wandering  ship  with  a 
pathos  like  that  of  a  lost  ewe  crying  alone  and 
unheard  in  the  night. 

Oanley's  own  attitude  made  this  waiting 
game  a  still  harder  one.  He  sauntered  about 


(EBB  urUL  IH  TBS  m 


under  the  Laminian's  gently  ^pping  nwniBgi, 
mioking  his  flnt-beUied  Hondiirian  cigars,  m 
pladd  and  mipertarbed  as  a  eommodore  paeing 

his  own  yacht  deck.  He  accosted  McKinnon, 
from  time  to  time,  with  the  off-handed  geniality 
of  long-established  comradeship.  He  appeared 
to  have  buried  all  memory  of  thop"  scenes  in 
which  he  had  taken  such  a  recen  >  auch  an 
active  part  He  divulged  nothing*  the  plans 
wbidi  were  fermenting  bdiind  the  Imlirark  of 
his  low  and  massive  frontal  bone.  He  said  noth- 
ing of  the  doubts  and  uncertainties,  if  such  he 
had,  which  were  p-'eying  on  his  mind.  But  all 
the  while  McKinnon  felt  that  he  was  being 
watched,  just  as  all  the  while  he  himself  was 
guardedly  watching  the  other. 

Once,  ai  MeKhmoo  atood  alone  at  liie  ihiphi 
rail,  Ganley  sanntered  over  with  his  ponderous 
and  deliberate  str  >s,  and  joined  h^*n  in  his 
silent  study  of  thi  »tar-strewn  heavens.  The 
operator  waited,  feeling  that  at  last  his  enigmat- 
ic enemy  wr  -  about  to  speak.  But  the  gnn- 
noL.  ^)  *a  mecutative  eyes  remained  turned  up 
to  the  stars,  aoft  and  warm  and  luminous 
against  a  sky  of  velvety  blackness.  He  seemed 
ntterly  at  peace  with  the  world  and  his  own  soul, 
as  McKinnon  left  him  there,  contemplating  the 
intimidating  vast  dome  of  the  tropical  heavens. 

It  was  only  as  the  Laminian  rounded  the 


182     THE  LULL  IN  THE 


eastern  coast  of  Cuba  that  McKinnon  detected 
any  signs  of  unusual  interest  in  the  gun- 
nmner's  actions.  He  caught  sight  of  him  at  the 
rail,  shadowed  by  one  of  the  life-boats,  scan- 
ning the  shore-line  through  his  binoculars.  He 
could  see  him  there  for  an  hour  or  more,  study- 
ing the  long,  grayish-yellow  littoral  land-shelf 
and  the  lonely  and  misty  blue  hills  beyond  it. 
He  stood  there,  expectantly,  as  though  in  search 
for  some  signal  which  was  not  to  be  found. 
Then  he  fell  to  walking  the  deck,  impatiently, 
between  tiie  engine-room  skylights  and  tiie  lif e- 
boats.  McESnnon,  as  he  watched  him  striding 
back  and  forth,  with  a  touch  of  exasperation  onl 
of  keeping  with  his  customarily  ponderous 
movements,  could  see  that  a  little  of  the  colour 
had  gone  xrom  his  pendulous  cheeks,  and  that 
his  deep-set  eyes  were  more  haggard  and  pufi^y 
than  usnaL 

But  nothing  came  to  tfo  quiet  and  sun-steeped 
ship  to  relieve  MolSnnon's  aocruing  sense  of 
anxiety.  His  coherer  wooed  no  response  from 
the  silence  about  him;  his  aerials  intercepted 
no  answering  message.  More  than  once  he  felt 
tempted  to  confront  his  impassive  and  quiescent 
opponent,  if  for  nothing  more  than  to  end  the 
strain,  to  knock  the  diip  off  his  shoulder  and 
bring  things  to  an  issue. 

But  Oanley  gave  him  no  opening.  And  again 


THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM  183 

there  crept  through  the  younger  man,  as  the 
•eoond  long  and  snltry  day  ended  in  a  Uaok  and 
star-strewn  evening,  the  feeling  that  he  was 
friendless  and  alone,  far  from  his  own  kind. 
With  the  coming  of  the  calm  and  spacious 
tropical  night  there  came  to  him  a  more  com- 
pelling sense  of  his  isolation.  More  keenly  than 
ever  he  felt  the  barrier  that  his  own  dissimula- 
tion had  built  up  between  himself  and  Alicia 
Boynton.  There  was  a  barb  of  mockery,  he  felt, 
in  the  very  manner  in  which  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  relinquish  a  friendship  that  had 
promised  to  mean  so  much  to  him.  He  tried 
to  tell  himself  that  a  man  must  fight  alone,  in 
warfare  such  as  that  he  was  facing,  that  he  must 
learn  to  accept  his  loneliness  as  a  natural  part 
of  the  game. 

Then,  of  a  sudden,  his  isolation  seemed  a 
thing  of  the  past.  For,  looking  up  as  he  sat 
crouched  before  his  tuner,  he  saw  a  figure 
standing  at  his  open  door.  And  it  did  not  take 
a  second  glance  to  show  him  that  this  figure 
was  the  figure  of  the  woman  of  whom  he  had 
been  thinking.  The  moment  he  caught  sight  of 
her,  in  her  low-throated  gown  of  white  linen,  he 
felt  the  subjugating  influence  of  her  presence. 
His  heart  began  to  beat  faster,  even  before  she 
stepped  in  across  his  coppered  door-sill.  He 
felt  grateful  for  her  companionship,  for  her 


184     THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM 


mere  presence  there.  He  noticed  the  restless- 
ness of  her  brooding  eyes  as  she  sank  into  the 
broken-armed  steamer-chair  that  he  placed  for 
her.  He  wondered  just  where  the  thread  of 
their  old  intercourse  would  be  taken  up  again. 

''Are  you  in  commnnieation  with  anythingT" 
she  asked,  with  an  anxions  glance  at  his  ap- 
paratus. Her  tone  was  tentative  and  non-onn- 
mittal ;  it  left  everything  still  unanswered. 

**No,"  he  said. 

"You  can't  get  anything?'* 

"Nothing  whatever,"  he  answered,  "though 
I've  been  calling  regularly,  twice  an  hour." 

"And  not  a  message  in  two  daysf "  she  asked. 

"Yesterday  afternoon  I  picked  up  a  few 
words  from  an  Atlas  liner,  bound  north.  3he 
seemed  to  be  reporting  distances.  But  I 
couldn't  get  enough  power;  my  coils  weren't 
strong  enough  to  reach  her." 

The  girl  rose  to  her  feet,  and  crossed  fh» 
cabin  and  stood  studying  the  faded  map  of  the 
Caribbean  on  the  closet  door. 

"But  aren't  there  chances  of  still  getting  in 
communication?"  she  asked.  "There  are  so 
many  ships,  nowadays,  that  carry  wireless." 

McKinnon  rose  and  stood  beside  her,  regard- 
ing the  map. 

"Tes,  there  are  himdreds  and  himdre&  of 
ships,  bat,  OB  the  other  hand,  there  Is  «o  muH 


LTTLL  IN  TfiS  ffFOKM  166 

ocean,  so  much  distance  to  swallow  them  np/' 
he  explained,  indeterminately  feeling  that  the 
longer  he  conld  hold  her  there  the  more  iSnnly 
the  tie  of  their  old  companionship  would  be  re- 
established. "Look  at  this  map,  for  instance, 
with  all  these  islands  that  seem  so  terribly  close. 
In  the  Bahamas  alone  there  are  three  dozen 
good-sized  islands,  and  over  six  hundred  cays, 
and  nearly  twenty-five  hundred  rocks  of  one 
kind  or  another.  You'd  imagine,  to  look  at 
them  on  the  map  here,  that  yon*d  hardly  get  a 
ship  through  withont  bumping  into  one  of  them. 
But  when  you're  down  here  actually  cruising 
among  them,  going  days  without  a  glimpse  of 
land,  you  realise  how  far  apart  they  actually  lie. 
And  it's  the  same  with  ships.  It's  possible  we 
may  not  get  another  call  all  the  way  across  the 
Canbbean.'' 

"That  means  the  Prmeekm  won't  be  at 
Puerto  Locombia?" 

"Not  unless  I  can  pick  her  up." 

*  *  Then  it  *s  hopeless ! ' ' 

"I  can't  say  the  case  is  hopeless,"  parried 
McKinnon.  "But  the  chances  are  against  ns. 
AU  we  can  do  is  wait  and  be  ready.  Sometimea, 
<m  ^ar  xnghts  like  these,  we  can  make  wirelesa 
aatj  a  surprising  distance." 

"There  must  be  somebody — some  ship !"  per- 
sisted the  girl,  as  she  sank  into  the  diair  again. 


186     THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM 

He  began  to  wish,  as  he  watched  her,  that  it 
lay  in  his  power  to  bring  some  tonch  of  content- 
ment to  those  nnhappy  and  anxious  eyes  before 
him. 

"WeTl  rarely  overhaul  the  Princeton/*  he 
had  the  hardihood  to  assert,      she's  lying  to 
anywhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Culebra." 
"And  if  that  fails?"  asked  the  girl. 
"I'm  hoping  we'll  still  be  able  to  pick  np 
Puerto  Locombia  itself,"  he  ventured. 
She  shook  her  head  meditatively,  absent- 
i  mindedly. 

*'There  is  no  station  at  Puerto  Locombia.'* 
"No  stationf   cried  McEimion. 
"It  will  be  dismantled— most  likely  it  will  be 
I ;  burned  to  the  ground  by  this  time.  If  De  Bri- 

gard  is  fighting  his  way  up  to  the  capital,  he 
would  never  leave  a  coast-station  behind  him, 
to  be  calling  for  help." 

Here  was  news,  indeed,  thought  McKinnon; 
and  a  radden  grateful  Iwik  leaped  into  his  eyes, 
as  he  realised  tiie  misstep  trcm.  which  she 
saved  him. 

"Can  you  remember  if  there  is  a  telegraph- 
line  between  Puerto  Locombia  and  that  capi- 
tal!" he  asked,  after  a  moment  of  deep  thought. 

"ISiere  was  one,  once,"  answered  the  woman. 
"But  tiidr  poles  rotted  down  in  less  than  a  year 
—the  heat  and  rain  and  insects  of  that  dimate^ 


THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM  137 

yon  know,  win  make  a  log  as  kij^  as  yoor  table 
oromble  away  in  one  season.  So  the  govern- 
ment broiit^ht  in  a  shipload  of  street-car  rails,' 
I  think  the>  w^re  second-hand  rails  from  Kings- 
ton, and  planted  them  for  poles  to  carry  the 
line  up  to  Onariqiii.  But  the  natives  kept  cut- 
ting out  sections  of  the  wire  ^or  tiieir  own  ns^ 
to  mend  saddle-girths  and  lie  up  hnft-watUes, 
and  it  took  three-quarters  of  Artoro's  govenip 
mc^t  troops  to  patrol  th'.  route  and  keep  the 
line  open.  So  they  gave  it  up,  at  last,  and  fitted 
up  the  three  wireless  stations." 

She  did  not  join  in  McKinnon's  7augh  over 
the  untimely  end  of  Locombia's  telegraph- 
system.  . 

''Where  is  the  third  station— the  one  besides 

Guariqui  and  Puerto  Locombiat"  he  asked. 

''At  Boracao — that's  the  biggest  of  the 
banana-shipping  towns." 

"It's  hard  to  have  to  sit  and  wait  for — ^for 
the  inevitable  this  way,"  he  said,  witii  an  as- 
sumption or  cheeriness. 

"Yes,  it  i«  hard,"  she  said,  out  of  the  sileiMse 
that  once  more  fell  over  them. 

He  felt,  none  the  less,  wordlou^r  grateful  for 
her  presence  there,  talh'ng  c  siilent.  SJie 
seemed  to  bring  a  new  and  more  vital  «,tmos- 
phere  into  his  squalid  little  station.  She  seemed 
to  throw  a  warm  and  transforming  tint  on 


188     THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOEM 


everything  abont  her,  as  he  had  seen  a  fOM* 
tinted  stage-light  alter  and  enrich  the  eanvw 
and  tinsel  of  a  Broadway  piayhouse. 

He  saw  her  take  a  loog  and  troubled  breath, 
look  up  at  him,  and  once  more  look  away.  The 
hnm  and  -vdiir  of  his  electric  fan  was  the  only 
sound  in  the  cabin. 

"I  don't  thinlr  either  of  ns  has  been  qnite 
honest  with  the  other,''  she  said,  oompelling* 
herself  to  meet  his  puzzled  gaze. 

"I  know — and  I'm  sorry,"  he  replied,  puz- 
riing  her  again  by  his  notw  of  humanity. 

"IVe  told  yon  an  nntmth,"  she  said  at  last, 
taking  another  deep  breath. 

"In  what  way!"  asked  McKinnon. 

"I  lied  to  you,  when  Ganley  and  yon  were  in 
my  cabin.  I  can't  let  it  go  on.  I  can't  endure 
the  thought  of  this  lie  standing  between  us  like 
—oh,  like  a  quicksand  that  can  never  be 
crossed." 

"But  what  is  itt"  asked  fha  other. 

She  looked  np  at  him  again,  very  steadily  and 
very  bravely. 

**I  told  you  that  my  husband  was  dead,"  she 
answered  in  her  low  and  constrained  voice. 
"He  is  not  dead.** 

"He  is  not  deadf "  echoed  McEjnnon. 

"I  said  that  he  died  of  yellow  fever.  He  took 
the  fever  and  was  ill  with  ii  But  ha  did  not 


TES  LULL  IN  THE  STOfilC  189 


die.  He  was  sentenced  and  sent  to  tlis  Iskacl 
of  Malpanto,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  The  Loc(Hnp 
bian  penal  colony  is  there.  He  was  sent  there, 
for  lif(;.  He  was  dead,  to  all  the  world— ?ie  was 
dead  to  me." 

«Thfin  he  ia  dead,  to  all  " 

"Wait  I  wanted  to  make  sore  of  mj  fn^ 
dom,  to  be  foolishly  snre  of  it  So  I  went  Nortb. 
Then  I  went  to  New  Orleans,  to  my  old  home." 

"But  whyf'  he  asked,  as  ho  notioed  her 
hesitation. 

'^A  felony,  in  Louisiana,  is  a  cause  for  aln 
solute  divorce." 
"You  mean  you  were  set  free  in  your  own 

country  t" 

"Yes,  that  is  why  I  went  to  the  United  States. 
That  is  TvL/ 1  was  there  when  the  sews  of 
revolution  first  reached  me." 

"And  Ganley  knows  this?"  McEinnon  de- 
manded, 

"(atanley  knows  everything,"  she  answered. 

"And  tiiis  is  why  yon  are  so  against  himf" 

She  had  to  school  h<»nMlf  into  leilHSontnd  be- 
fore she  could  go  on. 

"I  have  a  better  reason  for  being  agamst  him. 
If  he  and  his  Liberal  Party  once  acquire  power, 
Ganley  will  bring  Perralta  back  to  Guariqui ;  he 
will  commute  his  sentence.  He  will  do  this  to 
^rl&e  at  my  brother  Artoro.'* 


190     THE  LULL  IN  THE  8T0BM 


MoKinnon  looked  at  her  in  amazed  and  silent 
comprehension.  At  last  he  seemed  aible  to 
understand,  distniM  as  he  was  by  the  thought 
of  so  fhigile  a  figan  entangled  in  snch  brutal 
and  rudimentary  conflicts.  The  lack  of  motive 
for  her  presence  in  the  same  <nrole  with  Gan- 
ley,  whether  facing  or  following  such  a  man, 
had  been  the  underground  yet  actual  cause  jf 
more  than  one  of  his  wayward  suspicions.  Bat 
now  he  understood.  And  her  confession,  m> 
stead  of  shoddng  and  distorbing  hhn,  broni^t 
into  his  softened  eyes  a  sense  of  release,  of  more 
perfect  understanding.  What  she  had  told  him 
seemed  to  humanise  her,  to  bring  her  into  touch 
with  the  world  of  realities  as  he  had  met  and 
known  it.  The  last  of  his  old-time  fear  of  her, 
his  hampering  awe  of  her,  had  vanished. 

*'We  are  both  against  Ganley,"  he  said,  as 
though  speaking  to  himself. 

'Tom  are  against  Ganleyt'*  she  questioned. 

"To  the  end  of  time!"  he  answered,  with  a 
solemnity  that  brought  her  great  wondering 
eyes  up  to  his.  She  noticed  that  he  rose  from 
his  chair  and  dosed  the  cabin  door. 

""Why  have  you  changedt" 

"I  have  rot  changed  I" 

"Then  what  is  it!" 

"It's  that  I'm  at  last  going  to  be  half  honest 
>with  yon— that  I  can't  continue  not  being 


THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM  191 


booffft  with  yon  I  I  am  on  thii  aiiip  for  Iht 
mm  pupoM  tiuit  yon  m  km'* 

"To  go  to  Locombiaf " 

"No— to  defeat  Ganley.l»» 

"For  what  reasont" 

"For  your  reason!" 

"But  for  whomt" 

"For  the  Minister  of  War  of  the  United 
States  of  Locombia,**  answered  McKinnon.  He 
leaned  towards  her  a  little  as  he  spoke,  and 
lowered  his  vtAoB,  wilh  a  wanung  dda-i^anoa 
towards  the  dosed  door. 

"But  my  broflier  Artuo  is  fba  Looomyaa 
Miniater  of  War,**  aha  maintained,  her  eyes  itiB 
wide  with  wonder. 

"And  for  two  months  past  IVe  been  commis- 
sioned by  your  brother  to  keep  in  touch  witn 
practically  every  so-called  'Liberal*  expatriate 
in  New  York.  And  only  twenty  hours  before 
this  ship  sailed  I  found  out  what  it  carried  and 
why  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  be  on  board  of 
it." 

For  a  full  minute  she  did  not  utter  a  word. 

"Then  you  are  a  spyT"  she  said,  at  last. 

"Scarcely  a  spy— I  am  merely  a  Secret  Agent 
for  Arturo  Boynton's  government,"  was  his 
answer. 

He  could  see  the  deep  breath  she  took  as  aba 


m     THE  LULL  IN  THE  8T0BM 


leaned  relazingly  back  in  the  brokn-AnMd 
iteamer^liair. 

'*Then  we  are  aeting  together/'  dh9  mur- 
mured, slowly,  still  a  little  mystified,  still  a  little 
sceptical  aa  to  this  new  iaaae  which  was  rtonli* 
ing  them. 

Yes,  we're  acting  together— and  well  never 
let  Qanley  win!''  said  McKinnon. 

It  was  something  more  than  tha  iirs  of  foolish 
ardonr.  And  the  woman  at  his  side  most  hm 

seen  and  known  it,  for  a  tonch  of  colour  came 
into  her  pale  cheek.  The  electric  fan  pnrred 
and  hummed  on  its  little  bracket.  The  soft  and 
balmy  night  air  beat  on  their  faces.  The  gloom 
and  quietness  of  the  ship  was  about  them. 

**Won*t  you  let  me  fight  this  fight  out,  for 
youf**  he  asked,  surrendering  to  the  tide  of  feel- 
ing that  seemed  tearing  hun  from  all  his  old 
anchorages. 

**K  we  only  could!"  she  said,  inadequately. 

"We  can,  together,"  he  cried,  with  blind  and 
unreasoning  hope,  resenting  the  look  of  8om»> 
thing  that  seemed  strangely  akin  to  pity  as  she 
gazed  up  at  him. 

She  did  not  answer,  in  words,  but  some  slowly 
transforming  emotion,  some  inner  and  unut- 
tered  capitulation  slowly  overbore  the  look  of 
trouble  that  weighed  upon  her.  Then  she  closed 
her  eyes,  as  though  shutting  out  some  glimpse 


THE  LULL  IN  THE  STOBM  193 

of  happiness  too  grett  to  be  anything  but  ft 
mocltery.  Before  she  opened  them  McKinnon 
had  her  hand  between  his  great  bony  fingers, 
and  reckless  fire  and  warmth  and  daring  went 
singing  through  his  Teins. 

"I'kn  going  to  light  tiiia  out  for  yoV' lit 
"and  l*m  going  to  win  bManio  yon  want  mo  to 

win!** 

"Oh,  it  will  be  hard!'*  she  murmured,  with 
a  vibrata  of  something  that  was  alnuMt  hap- 
piness in  her  voice. 

"Hard  I"  ha  oried,  in  his  new-bom  and  un- 
reasoning andadty;  "I'd  tbfOQ^  Hell  li- 
self  for  you!" 


CHAPTEB  XVI 


XHl  VIBHAL  XMT48I0H 

Oahlr,  togged  ont  in  ft  looM-fitting  and 
many-wrinkled  suit  of  white  doek,  wai  paeinf 
the  Laminian'a  bridge-deek,  Iftn  a  polar  betr 

pacing  its  cage. 

He  watched  the  morning  Rnn  ocHne  np,  bright 
and  brazen,  like  a  newly  minted  penny.  He 
watohed  the  aerials  bridging  the  mastheads 
and  waiting  like  a  adse  to  net  any  wandering 
school  of  aeoliaa  notes.  He  watched  the  bar»> 
footed  sailors  slnice  the  steaming  deck-boards. 
Bnt  most  of  all  he  watched  the  sky-line  ahead, 
with  many  ruminative  uplifts  of  his  heavy  iron- 
grey  eyebrows. 

It  startled  him  a  little  to  see  McKinnon 
emerge  from  the  deck  below,  finesh  from  his 
early  bath  in  a  rusty  iron  tab  that  had  long  since 
parted  with  its  porcelain,  whistling  like  a  sand- 
boy as  he  climbed  the  brass-plated  stairs. 

He  emerged  from  the  stair-head  in  a  suit  of 
fresh  linen,  dean  and  cool-looking,  as  chirpy  as 

m 


THE  VEBNAL  INVASION  195 

a  city  sparrow  at  a  fotmtain-rim.  It  t?«i  ^ 
tnrbed  Oanley  a  litUe  to  behold  him  ao  ami*, 
leisly  and  so  mysterionsly  happy. 

But  what  more  seriously  disturbed  the  gtuir- 
MOj  watQhing  man  waa  the  trivial  discovery 
that  IfflKimion  took  a  key  fnm  kia  poctet  as 
he  approached  his  station  door,  that  he  inserted 
it  in  the  lock  and  turned  it  before  he  gained 
admittance  to  his  narrow  operating  quarters. 
It  obviously  meant  that,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  the  wireless-room  was  thereafter  to  be 
kept  imder  loek  and  k«y. 

McKinnon  himself  kiMw  there  were  more  rea^ 
sons  than  one  for  tiiat  early  morning  mood  of 
his.  It  was  not  the  mere  thought  that  he  could 
now  claim  a  definite  and  dependable  ally  which 
brought  his  lightheartedness  back  to  him.  It 
waa  more  the  consciousness  of  that  new  cama- 
raderie whidi  must  exist  between  him  and 
Aliela  Boynton,  tiiie  promise  of  dose  and  aabtlo 
companionship  witL  a  young  and  lovely  woman 
whose  interests  were  to  be  his  interests.  It  was 
the  realisation  that  at  last  duty  and  desire  had 
been  made  one. 

He  found  something  wordlessly  consoling  'i 
the  faet  that  as  the  long  tropical  morning  wore 
away  he  odbid  look  up  from  his  tuner  and 
phones  and  rest  his  eye  on  the  white^dad  figure 
of  the  girl,  not  a  stone's  throw  away  from  kin*. 


196       THE  VEBNAL  INVASION 


It  was  imdentood  that  ihey  were  not  to  meet 
openly.  Bat  he  knew,  as  he  looked  oat  at  her 
from  time  to  time,  and  saw  her  lying  idly  back 
under  the  patched  awnings  of  the  bridge-deek, 
apparently  engrossed  in  a  book,  that  she  was 
quietly  cooperating  with  him  in  keeping  a  watch 
of  their  common  enemy. 

The  first-fraits  of  tiiis  qoiet  espionage  was 
the  distnrbing  sight  of  Ganley  makii^  his  way 
to  Captain  Yandel's  stateroom. 

What  took  place  there  it  was  impossible  to 
tell.  All  that  Alicia  conld  be  sure  of  was  that 
he  remained  for  half  an  hour  with  the  ship's 
master.  For  the  past  few  days,  she  suspected, 
this  thick-necked  and  bullock-minded  officer  had 
been  more  than  ever  nnder  the  inflnopf^  of 
liqnor.  Alcohol,  apparently,  only  served  to 
crown  his  sullen  taciturnity  with  an  animal-like 
ferociousness  when  interfered  with  or  even  ac- 
costed. That  silent  and  friendless  man,  she 
knew,  was  not  one  to  be  easily  won  over.  He 
had  neither  the  brains  nor  the  ambition  to  dis- 
rnpt  tiie  even  teaor  of  his  oxlike  days  by  aflUiap 
tions  with  anything  so  disquieting  as  a  revolu- 
tion-maker. He  was  not  open  to  a  gun-runner's 
negocio,  or  he  would  surely  have  played  his 
hand  earlier  in  the  game. 

Yet  there  was  something  terrifying  to  her  in 
the  mere  fact  that  Qanley  could  remain  closeted 


THS  VEBNAL  INVASIOK  187 


witH  tKat  aatocratio  functionary  for  so  long, 
whether  the  time  was  being  spent  in  bribe-pass- 
ing or  in  imbibing  aguardiente  flavoured  with 

Jamaica  nun  and  dried  mint-leaves. 

Her  fear  fell  away  from  her,  however,  when 
she  saw  Ganley  come  out  of  the  stateroom  door 
again.  His  face  was  dark  and  troubled,  and  to 
the  guardedly  watching  woman  his  tread  seemed 
heavy  and  spiritless. 

She  explained  the  episode  to  McKinnon,  an 
hour  later,  w'aen  he  casually  strolled  below  and 
slipped  unobserved  into  her  cabin,  as  they  had 
arranged. 

**I  don't  think  even  Ganley  conld  placate  a 
beast  like  Tandel,"  explained  the  operator. 
"It  would  be  like  tryiag  to  wheedle  yourself 
into  the  good  graces  of  a  grizzly.  And  he's 
been  drinking— drinking  abominably.  It  would 
be  worse  than  trying  to  pet  a  boa-constrictor. 
He  knows  how  to  navigate  a  ship,  and  that  is 
all.»»  . 

'<Bat  if  Ganley  shonld  put  the  whole  ease  be- 
fore him,  and  make  the  bribe  a  sufficiently  big 
onef  Suppose  he  waits  until  the  last,  and  them 
simply  buys  him  over?" 

McKinnon  shook  his  head. 

**He's  not  the  buyable  kind,  or  he  would  have 
been  bought  before.  And  then  he's  against 


198       THE  VERNAL  INVASION 


awjrtliing— Iw  simply  lives     %lit  aitd  fno- 

tion  and  opposition." 

"But  think  of  his  power  I" 

**I  don't  think  we  need  to,  when  we  remember 
he's  nothing  but  a  whisky-tippling  and  satur- 
nine misanthrope." 

"Still,  couldn't  he  be  bought  over,  if  the 
bribe  were  made  big  enough?  As  big  as  Gan- 
ley  could  afford  to  make  it!" 

"I  don't  pretend  to  knowledge  as  to  wh.?t  a 
man  will  do  wKen  he's  tempted  enough,"  an- 
swered McEinnon,  as  he  fixed  his  absent  and 
stndions  eyes  on  the  troubled  woman.  **But 
something  instinctively  tells  me  Captain  Yandel 
is  not  going  to  be  our  danger-point"  He  was 
silent  for  a  moment  or  two,  for  her  question  had 
sent  his  ever-active  mind  off  on  a  new  tangent. 

"/  must  be  the  one  to  temporise  with  him  and 
keep  him  guessing  until  it's  too  late!" 

"But  it  wonld  only  make  things  worse,  in  the 
end." 

"Could  they  be  any  worse T" 

"Perhaps  not,  but  can  you  expect  Qanley  to 
trust  you  now!" 

"I  don't  think  he  quite  understands,  yet. 
And  I'll  go  to  him  and  give  him  back  his  re- 
volver. It's  no  use  to  me — and  IVe  noticed  he 
carries  a  second  gm" 


TBM  VERNAL  INVASION  199 

"But  you,  yourself!"  interposed  his  oom- 
panion.  McKinnon  touched  his  pocket. 

"IVe  had  to  carry  this,  now  and  then,  even 
before  this  trouble.  But  we  can't  lose  anything 
by  keeping  in  touch  with  him.  And  there's  al- 
ways the  chance  of  my  wireless  picking  up  some- 
thing.'* 

"Suppose  Captain  Yandel  has  spoken  to  him 
of  the  scene  in  your  room?"  asked  the  girl,  ap- 
parently disturbed  by  some  new  thought. 

"Whiflh  scenef" 

"When  you  told  him'  I  was  your— your  wife^" 
she  explained,  with  heightened  colour. 

''I'm  sorry  I  had  to  stoop  to  a  trick  like 
that,"  said  the  other,  with  unexpected  humility. 

"It  will  make  it  so  much  harder,  later,"  she 
ventured. 

"I'm  sorry,"  was  all  he  could  say.  Her  face 
suddenly  coloured  with  a  deeper  flush  at  the 
thought  that  he  had  misinterpreted  her. 

"By  later  1  mean  all  that  we  may  have  to  go 
through  before  we  are  off  this  ship." 

"Then  escape  from  this  ship  is  to  be  counted 
the  end  of  everything?"  he  asked. 

"No,  noj"  she  murmured,  "the  beginning." 

' '  Could  it  be  the  beginning  I  am  hoping  fort" 

She  drew  back  from  him  and  looked  about 
her,  as  though  she  had  suddenly  zeawaksnsd  to 
their  immediate  surroundings. 


200      THE  VEBNAL  INYASIOH 


Neither  of  us  has  the  right  to  hope,  until 
-we  are  free." 
"But  we  will  be  free— we  are  free!" 
<*Not  until  we  have  escaped  from  Ganley  and 

all  he  stands  for.'* 

"Ganley,  then,  is  our  first  bridge,"  he  cried, 
with  sudden  energy. 

*  *  Yes — our  first  bridge  1 " 

"Then  before  we  cross  that  bridge  I*m  going 
to  test  a  girder  or  twol" 


CHAPTEB  XVn 


THl  PB0I7KBXD  OBOWV 

Thb  Laminian's  wireless-operator  sat  in  his 
room,  three  hours  later,  with  his  door  hooked 
back  against  the  wall-plates  and  his  window- 
curtains  gently  flapping.  From  its  nnpainted 
shelf  droned  and  hnmmed  his  dry-battery  elec- 
tric fan. ,  A  seaman  passed  by  nnder  the  awn- 
ing, carrying  in  his  hand  a  cluster  of  deck- 
lamps.  From  the  open  ventilator-heads  came 
the  discordant  sonnd  of  steel  shovels  grating  on 
steel,  the  occasional  slam  of  a  ftimaoe  door,  the 
fhrob  and  poise  of  the  unvarying  engines. 
Otherwise  it  was  very  qniet;  sea  and  sky  met 
in  a  world  of  unbroken  peace  which  the  passing 
of  so  incongruous  a  thing  of  steel  and  steam  dis- 
turbed for  only  a  moment,  agitated  foolishly, 
ytt  tor  only  a  heart-throb  or  two. 

Then  high  above  the  qniet  deck  sounded  ont 
an  ev^  more  incongruous  noise,  the  nervous, 
tense  staccato  of  the  wireless  "spark.''  It 
seemed  like  some  underworld  god  of  speed 

Ml 


202      THE  PBOFFEBED  CBOWN 


strikixig  out  tltanio  ehords;  it  like  some 
l^iosily  iliigen  playixig  on  a  harp  of  haste,  lib* 

Kinnon  sat  between  his  four  fla8hing  white 
walls  and  sent  his  Hertzian  waves  arrowing  out 
over  the  lonely  acres  of  the  Caribbean,  hurling 
his  coil's  mysterious  and  imponderable  force 
against  the  engulfing  isolation  of  the  sea.  Then 
came  a  space  of  silence  and  again  the  blue- 
coloured  sprite  danced  and  jigged  at  the  mast 
head. 

As  McKinnon  had  secretly  hoped,  that  sus- 
tained rattle  and  roar  of  his  "spark"  brought 
to  his  open  door  the  huge  and  white-clad  figure 
that  had  been  meditatively  pacing  the  bridge- 
deck. 

"Conld  you  take  a  message  for  me,  if  you're 
in  touch  with  anytbingf "  asked  Oanley  from 

the  doorway. 

The  operator  put  down  his  earphones  and 
motioned  for  the  other  man  to  enter. 

"I  thought  I  had  something  then,"  he  ex- 
plained, "bnt  it's  <mly  static  breaking 
thronghl'* 

"What's  static!" 

"Lightning-flashes,  domev  *  beyond  the 
skyline.  I  can  hear  'em  go  like  a  roll  of  drums 
that  bend  up  to  what  we  call  a  cough  or  sneeze." 

"Perhaps  rou're  not  in  good  running  order," 
vsitured  Qaaley,  eying  the  apparatus  at  ai 


THE  PBOPPEBED  GROWN  203 


street  cat  might  eye  a  canary  behind  its  cage- 
bars. 

"It's  working  as  smooth  as  oil,"  answered 
MoEinnon,  adjusting  his  receiver  again  and  lis- 
tening for  a  minute  or  two.  "But  we *re  too  far 
away  from  things.  We»re  drifting  too  far 
away  frwn  a  white  maa*s  woricL" 

Ganley  sat  down  with  his  slow  and  pondenms 
deliberateness.  McKinnon  found  it  hard  to  say 
just  what  he  wanted  to  say,  for  the  weight  of 
their  last  encounter  was  still  heavy  on  his  spirit. 

The  other  man  seemed  to  understand  the 

source  of  his  embarrassment.  He  sat  back,  at 

last,  and  diffidently  remarked:  "You  had  some- 
thing to  say  to  mef " 

McKinnon  reached  a  long  thin  aim  over  to 

the  back  of  his  operating-table. 

"Yes,  I'd  forgotten  to  give  you  back  this  gun 
of  yours,"  he  said,  as  he  held  the  revolver  oat 
to  its  owner. 

GmI^  took  it,  diffidently,  turned  it  over  in 
his  fingers,  puckered  his  heavy  Hps,  and  casu- 
ally dropped  the  gun  into  his  side  pocket  Then 
he  looked  up  at  the  other  man. 

"That  was  pretty  ugly  talk  you  got  about  me 
the  other  night,"  he  began,  sliding  low  in  his 
chair  until  his  attitude  was  nothing  more  than 
a  nonchalant  lounge.  "I  suppose  you  swal- 


204      THE  PBOFFEBED  CBOWN 


lowed  it  whole— everything  that  attraellv* 
young  woman  saidf '* 
It  cost  McKinnon  an  effort  to  hold  himself 

in,  but  the  only  line  of  procedure  in  warfare 
such  as  this,  he  had  learned,  was  the  indirect 
one. 

"I  don't  believe  everything  I  hear,**  was  his 
answer,  as  he  assumed  an  equally  indifferent 
position. 

''I  gness  most  stories  *ye  got  their  two 
sides,"  remarked  Ganley,  largely. 

"This  woman,  though,  claims  you*re  nothing 
more  than  a  gun-runner,'*  the  younger  man 
carelessly  reminded  him. 

"Well,  /  am,"  suddenly  declared  Ganley,  with 
his  little  deep-set  eyes  squarely  on  the  othw 
man's.  "Cant  there  be  two  sides  ^  in-nm- 
ning?" 

"The  law  side  and  the  outlaw  side,  I  sup- 
pose," suggested  McKinnon. 

Ganley  stared  at  him,  a  little  heavily,  a  little 
impatiently,  as  the  beetling  iron-grey  eye- 
brows worked  mminatively  up  and  down. 

"Look  here,  son,  I  want  yon  to  understand 
this  situation  I  These  dode^o-hngging,  labour- 
loathing  fire-eaters  down  Lere  have  got  to  have 
their  theatricals.  And  you've  got  to  have  some- 
body set  the  stage  and  supply  the  coloured  lights 


THE  PBOFFEBED  GROW  206 


for  'em.  And  if  one  man  doesn't  tote  in  the 
ftroworks,  another  damned  soon  will.*' 

"And  toting  in  the  ifareworks  is  your 
bnainessf" 

'  *  That 's  my  business  I  I  keep  snpplying  them 
with  the  nicest  little  pin-wheels  that  money  can 
buy.  They've  got  to  have  'em,  no  matter  where 
they  come  from.  So  I'm  keeping  their  show 
going,  and  I'm  making  them  pay  for  it  good 
and  plenty^' 
"You  only  supply  the  fireworint" 
"Not  always;  but  ain't  even  that  enoughf 
It's  revolutions  and  revolution-talk  that  run 
their  cafes — for  you'll  notice  these  little  distrac- 
tions always  start  in  the  cities,  where  there's 
plenty  of  vino  bianco  and  spare  time.  There's 
not  a  republic  down  there  that's  able  to  eat 
rii^t,  if  it  hasn't  got  a  boundary  dispute  to 
take  up  its  spare  time,  or  a  junta-fed  patriot 
to  keep  handing  out  rebel  proclamations.  They 
live  on  'em.  And  I  keep  their  vaudeville  going 
for  'em." 

"But  hasn't  this  particular  calling  its  par- 
ticnlar  dangers?"  MeKinnon  casually  inquired. 

"That's  part  of  the  gamel  There  are  even 
men  down  there  who'd  go  so  far  as  to  call  me 
a  lawbreaker.  If  that's  what  I  am,  I'd  like  to 
know  what  you'd  call  those  Yankee  concession- 
hnnters  and  wire-pullers  and  briba-givers  who 


206      THE  PBOFFEBED  CROWN 


burrow  around  for  underground  contracts  and 
then  run  squealing  to  Washington  like  a  stuck 
pig  every  time  a  peon  slaps  a  banana-ear  with  a 
machete!  No,  sir,  that's  mj  market,  and  Vm 
going  to  hold  it.  I'm  going  to  dimb  onto  that 
Guaiiqui  gang's  pay-car  and  hang  the  eomplHo 
sign  over  its  dashboard!" 

"But  isn't  this  man  De  Brigard  getting  there 
ahead  of  youf "  ventured  McKinnon,  watching 
for  the  effect  of  that  softly  exploratory  probe. 

guess  111  be  in  time  for  a  little  of  the 
fun,"  answered  Ganley,  guardedly.  The  other 
was  compelled  to  acknowledge  there  was  some- 
thing primordially  massive  about  this  uncouth 
Caribbean  king-maker.  There  was  something 
titanic  and  persuasive  about  this  self-confessed 
filibnster  of  petty  republics.  "Bin  very  audacity 
was  a  ponderable  asset  The  sheer  force  of  the 
man  could  still  appeal  to  some  substratum  of 
romance  in  the  other's  none  too  emotional  state 
of  mind. 

Some  trace  of  this  feeling  must  have  i^own 
itself  in  McKinnon 's  half -smiling  glance,  for  a 
new  confidence  crept  into  the  t^iies  of  the  man 
so  dosely  watching  him. 

"I've  been  in  my  ^ht  holes,"  he  placidly 
declared,  folding  his  arms  over  his  great  chest. 
"And  I've  got  out  of  'em,  e^'ery  time^  just  as 
I'm  going  to  get  out  of  this  one!" 


THE  PBOFFEBED  CBOWN  207 

"Bnt  Where's  the  hole,  thii  timtt'*  mildlj  in- 
quired the  operator. 

''Not  bein'  dead  snre  IVe  got  yoa  on 
side/'  said  his  candid  enemy. 

"But  yon  have  got  me!''  protested  the  other. 

"Then  why  havent  yon  been  sayin'  sot" 

*'I  can't  say  so,  opetapt  IVe  got  to  watch  my- 
self and  go  slow,"  equivocated  McKinnon. 

"But  what's  the  nse  o'  falling  between  two 
stools  T  Why  not  swing  in  with  the  right  side, 
nip  and  tuck,  while  yon've  still  got  the 
ehanoef" 

Oanley  wu  on  his  feet  by  this  time,  stand- 
ing over  tiirn. 

"See  here,  yon*re  no  piker.  You're  qniok, 

and  you're  devor. 

"You're  not  afraid  of  a  big  thing,  just  be- 
cause it  is  big.  I've  got  my  wires  laid,  anr'  I'm 
going  to  knock  that  Locombian  govemmeut  off 
ito  feet,  if  It  eosts  me  half  a  million  to  do  it 
I'm  goin'  to  blow  it  higfaer'n  Qilroy's  kite. 
They've  got  chromium-mines  down  there  worth 
more'n  a  million.  I'm  going  to  clean  out  that 
Guariqui  gang  and  I'm  going  to  do  it  good  when 
I  do  it.  That 's  mp  country  down  there, ' '  and  he 
waved  a  great  apelike  arm  toward  the  south- 
west, ''and  a  week  from  nowll  see  it  made  into 
a  white  man's  land." 

McKinmm  peered  up  at  him,  wondering  if  by 


208      THE  PBOFF£B£D  CBOWN 


■ny  chwncft  tht  mia  hid  indiod  ptnotdid  lifatt- 
■elf  of  the  jnstiien  of  hit  etnte. 

*'I  tell  you  you've  got  to  swing  in  with  us/* 
Ganley  was  blandly  declaring.  "You  huven't 
any  show.  This  work  is  going  to  be  done  quick 
and  done  quiet/' 

<*Biit  kow  about  leaksf  *' 

**There'8  not  going  to  be  my  leaki.  I've  got 
my  plan  for  that." 

"What  plant" 

Ganley  laughed  bis  short  and  mirthless  laugh. 

''A  little  plan  to  keep  things  quiet  The  one 
and  only  thing  we  don't  want  is  interference. 
It's  our  fighti  and  once  we  win  it  tbereni  be  no 
trouble.  We're  a  nation  then,  damn  it,  the  New 
Liberal  Party.  We're  a  government  of  our 
own,  and  we  can  go  back  and  patch  up  outside 
quarrels  when  we  sen  fit." 

"But  what  will  you  do  v/ith  the  Laminianf 
How  about  our  captain,  for  instance!"  McEin- 
non  asked. 

''I'll  give  him  more  than  agmrdiente  to 
worry  over!"  declared  the  gun-runner,  with  a 
snort  of  contempt  for  that  saturnine  ship's 
master.  "Oh,  I've  got  this  thing  figured  out  as 
close  as  a  sum  in  arithmetic.  Some  night  this 
week  our  men  are  to  surround  their  little  tw»- 
by-fonr  capitaL  Tuesday  morning,  by  day- 
break, if  our  guns  and  stuff  are  all  landed, 


TEE  PBOITEBED  OBOWN  100 

thflyll  begin  to  cannonade.  By  Tuesday  after- 
noon wt'U  bo  advancing  on  tho  Palace  itself. 
Bj  WodnoMUiy  night  well  have  Dnraa  and  Ut 

gang  shelled  out  or  our  own  men  shoved  in.  By 
sun-up  on  Thursday  we'll  have  Duran  deposed 
and  the  new  government  declared,  an  hour 
after  those  Palace  gates  come  down,  with  our 
own  men  in  office.  There's  no  use  my  beating 
ronnd  the  bosh  with  yon  any  longer.  It's  all 
got  to  come.  And  I  don't  want  yon  workin' 
against  us.  I  know  you're  game  oiongh;  and  I 
like  your  style.  I  don't  want  to  see  you  cuttin' 
your  own  throat.  And  if  you  see  us  through 
for  the  next  two  or  three  days  I'll  do  the  rij^t 
thing  by  you." 

"How  the  right  thingf  ** 

*'I'll  deed  you  over  a  third  interett  in 
Parroto  chromium  mines,  and  make  you  Min- 
ister of  Telegraphs  for  the  new  republic,  with  a 
sakry  of  six  thousand  dollars  in  gold  I" 

Some  momentary  spirit  of  romance,  of  vast 
issnea  and  strange  dangers,  of  hazards  and 
risks  in  far-off  oomen  of  the  earth,  seemed  to 
hover  about  the  hot  and  stuffy  little  cabin. 

*'I  mean  it,"  went  on  Ganley,  as  placid  and 
persuasive  as  before.  "I'll  tie  myself  down  to 
it.  And  that  hill-town  of  Guariqui  is  going  to 
be  a  mighty  livable  little  city  when  we  do  it 
ovarl*' 


210     SHE  PBOFFEBED  CBOWN 


<<It's  not  Guariqui  I'm  afraid  of,"  was  Mo- 
Eixmon's  evasive  answer.  He  was  thinking,  not 
so  much  how  some  spirit  of  youth  and  adven- 
ture less  sophisticated  than  his  own  might  he 
stunned  and  intoxicated  hy  such  prospects  as 
these,  but  just  how  he  was  going  to  discover 
Ganley's  undivulged  plan  for  keeping  Puerto 
Locombia  clear  of  all  outsiders. 

''Then  what  are  you  afraid  oft"  demanded 
Ganley. 

''It's  so  big/'  complained  the  other.  "So 
big  for  me,  I  mean!" 

Ganley  laughed,  a  little  scornfully. 

"Then  take  a  day  or  two  off  and  get  used  to 
it.  Sleep  on  it,  and  let  me  know  how  you  feel 
about  it  to-morrow  or  next  day.  Is  that  satis- 
factory t" 

"Anything you  say,"  McKinnon  answered. 

The  other  man  rose  heavily  to  his  feet, 
crossed  slowly  to  the  door,  and  turned  back  to 
stare  absently  about  the  crowded  little  room. 

"You'll  be  with  us  all  right,"  he  said,  with- 
out emotion. 

But  instead  of  going  below,  after  bidding  the 
operator  good-night  in  his  suave  and  deep- 
throated  guttural,  he  slowly  and  meditatively 
paced  the  bridge-deck,  idly  blinking  up  at  the 
stars  above  the  mastheads  and  out  over  the  rail 
at  the  dark  sea  on  either  side  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XVni 


THl  COAST  OF  MffiOHANOX 

It  was  two  days  later  that  the  Laminian 
swung  in  toward  the  coast  of  Locombia.  Her 
rust-stained  bow,  under  the  lash  of  the  sweep- 
ing trade-wind,  lifted  and  dipped  again  in  a 
sapphire-coloured  sea  streaked  with  yellow 
wind-rows  of  drift-weed.  The  hot  sun  blistered 
the  painted  woodwork;  the  air  was  like  a  h&ekr 
draft  from  an  opened  furnace. 

The  wind  freshened,  as  the  day  wore  away, 
whipping  spray  along  the  bleached  decks  and 
humming  through  the  tight-strung  aerials  at  the 
masthead.  It  brought  with  it  occasional  driv- 
ing showers  that  pelted  on  the  sodden  canvas 
ait  J  steaming  woodwork. 

McKinnon,  in  hf  v  cabin,  labonred  in  vain  over 
his  tuning  box  and  responder.  He  had  held 
Ganley  off  for  another  few  hours,  hoping 
against  hope  that  something  might  still  be 
picked  up.  The  gun-runner  had  not  accepted 
this  enforced  delay  with  a  good  grace;  there 

HI 


212    THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE 


could  be  little  more  hope  for  quibbles  or  equivo- 
cations in  that  quarter. 

McKinnon,  stooping  to  overlook  his  dynamo, 
felt  that  he  had  at  last  reached  the  end  of  his 
rope.  The  Princeton  was  still  beyond  his  call. 

When  he  stood  np  again  he  mopped  his  face 
with  a  handkerchief,  and  irritably  summoned 
a  steward  and  for  the  second  time  sent  down 
to  the  engine-room  asking  how  he  was  expected 
to  operate  his  coils  on  less  than  a  hundred  volts. 

Then  he  once  more  adjusted  his  helmet-re- 
ceiver and  sat  back  and  sighed,  letting  the  hot 
current  from  his  electric  fan  play  on  his  face. 
But  the  tropical  air  seemed  devitalised,  bereft 
of  its  oxygen.  He  was  dimly  conscious  of  the 
passage  of  time,  of  the  mufBed  and  monotonous 
drone  of  the  fan,  of  the  casual  ship-noises  far 
below  deck.  But  nothing  came  to  stir  his  re- 
sponder  into  life.  There  was  not  a  ship  or  sta- 
tion to  be  picked  up.  The  day  had  deepened 
into  evening,  and  nothing  had  came  to  help  him 
solve  his  problem. 

Already,  on  the  ship's  bridge,  the  navigating 
oflScer  in  soiled  duck  had  picked  up  the  Toajiras 
Light.  Behind  that  light  lay  the  flat  and  mias- 
mal  Locombian  coast.  And  somewhere,  still 
farther  to  the  southwest,  armies  were  being  ar- 
rayed against  each  other.  Somewhere,  across 
Uie  deepening  night,  men  were  amfaushiog  and 


THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE  213 


shooting.  Peons  dragged  out  of  peaceful  val- 
leys, "volunteers"  commandeered  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  unattached  citizens  forcibly 
seized  in  cafes  and  the  open  streets,  were  being 
set  at  one  another's  throats,  because  it  suited 
the  plans  of  a  pladd-eyed  and  lethargic  con- 
spirator who  wrung  power  and  money  out  of 
the  optimism  of  a  deluded  and  childlike  people. 

McKinnon,  as  he  sat  in  his  hot  and  stifling 
station,  wondered  if  his  mission  had  failed.  He 
asked  himself  if  he  had  not  been  outmaneu- 
Tered,  from  the  first 

The  weight  of  this  seeming  failure  grew 
heavier  and  heavier  on  his  spirit.  He  felt  as 
though  every  dead  body  in  that  Locombian  war- 
fare was  pressing  down  on  him,  as  though  the 
blood  from  every  gunshot  wound  was  submerg- 
ing him  in  a  river  of  self-hate. 

He  tamed  back  to  his  apparatus,  sullenly, 
wearily,  desperately.  But  call  and  tone  and  call 
again  as  he  might,  he  could  get  nothing.  He 
wondered  if,  by  any  chance,  Duran  and  his  gov- 
ernment were  already  a  thing  of  the  past;  if 
the  Laminian  and  all  she  carried  had  come  too 
late;  if  Guariqui  had  already  fallen.  Then  he 
mopped  his  face  again,  and  told  himself  that 
the  heat  had  got  on  his  nerves.  Any  one,  when 
tired  and  half-cooked,  he  muttered,  would  feel 
dispirited. 


214    THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE 


He  pulled  lumself  together,  with  an  effort, 
and  coerced  his  attention  on  the  instruments  be- 
fore him.  The  thing  was  not  over,  he  doggedly 
maintained;  he  still  had  his  fighting-chance. 

His  watch  above  the  responder  was  inter- 
rupted by  a  peremptory  rattle  of  his  cabin 
door.  He  was,  at  Alicia's  suggestion,  keeping 
his  wireless  station  nnder  lock  and  key,  though 
it  had  long  since  slipped  his  mind  that  he  had 
lodted  himself  in.  He  opened  his  door,  guar- 
dedly, and  was  both  relieved  and  disconcerted 
to  see  the  figure  of  Captain  Tandel  swaying 
there. 

"What 're  you  picking  up!'*  demanded  the 
captain,  thickly.  His  face  was  an  almost  apo- 
plectic red,  and  a  heavy  odour  of  brandy  drifted 
into  the  close  little  cabin.  Yet  the  squat,  wide- 
shouldered  figure  stood  erect  and  steady  enong^ 
on  the  ludicrously  short  and  wide-planted  legs. 
McKinnon  wondered  how  many  years  he  would 
last,  in  such  a  climate.  Then  he  marvelled  at 
the  thought  of  how  slowly  men  were  able  to 
kill  themselves;  the  sheer  pertinacity  of  life 
amazed  him,  as  he  peered  up  at  the  hulk  before 
him,  and  in  some  way  knew  that  it  would  drag 
on  and  on  through  its  sottish  years,  tiiat  the 
overheated  blood  and  the  hardening  arteries 
and  the  long-abused  body  would  damoor  fox 


am  COAST  OP  mischance  215 

their  own,  would  fight  for  life  and  movement, 
to  the  bitter  end. 

"I  haven't  picked  np  anything,"  answered 
the  thoughtfnl-eyed  man  at  the  operating-table. 
"And  I've  been  hngging  this  coherer  for  four 
hours." 

"Can't  you  get  that  dam'ed  Puerto  Locom- 

bia  operator?" 
"I  can  keep  calling.*' 

"Well,  keep  at  him  till  he  answers.  I  want 
to  know  what  they're  ddn*  with  that  tin-hom 
republic  0' theirs.  And  as  soon  as  yon  get  any- 
thing let  me  know." 

He  turned  away,  looked  up  at  the  night, 
swayed  a  little,  slowly  regained  his  equilibrium, 
and  wandered  forward  to  the  darkness  of  the 
bridge. 

McKinnon's  hanc»  went  ont  obediently  to  the 
switch,  his  dynamo  purred  and  hummed,  and  he 

caught  up  the  lever-handle  of  his  key.  The 
great  blue  spark  exploded  from  the  coils  and 
leaped  and  hissed  from  knob  to  knob  across  the 
spark-gap.  "Pt-Ba,"  "Pt-Ba,"  he  caUed,  per- 
fonetorily. 

He  looked  np  to  see  the  restless  captain  back 
at  his  door  again,  stupidly  watching  his 
spark.  The  operator  knew  he  was  calling  a 
dead  station,  but  he  played  out  his  part. 

"I  might  do  something,  if  they'd  give  me  « 


216    TBE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE 


little  more  power  from  that  engine-room,*'  he 
odid,  by  way  of  excuse. 

"Then  you'll  get  yonr  power,"  declared  the 
autocrat  of  his  little  world.  "YouTl  get  power 
enough,  if  that's  all  that's  wrong,"  he  repeated, 
as  he  made  his  way  once  more  toward  the 
bridge. 

McKinnon  switched  off  and  waited  until  Cap- 
tain Yandel's  order  had  tune  to  be  acted  on. 
Then  he  tested  his  spark  again.  The  eruption, 
as  the  contact-points  of  his  despatching-key 
came  together,  seemed  to  stab  and  tear  a  sud- 
den hole  in  the  silence.  It  roared  and  cannon- 
aded out  through  the  little  cabin,  until  the  night 
echoed  with  it ;  it  spit  and  hissed  from  the  mast- 
heads, aggressively,  incisively,  as  he  continiied 
to  move  the  contat^lever  up  and  down,  slow  and 
strong,  and  sent  his  call  arrowing  out  through 
the  darkness :  * '  Pt-Ba, "  *  *  Pt-Ba. ' '  But  inter- 
polated between  each  call  for  Puerto  Locom- 
6ia"  was  an  equally  impatient  and  anxious 
Morse  prayer  for  "Cruiser  Princeton — CrtMer 
Princeton.** 

"That's  aUnost  enough  to  wake  the  dead," 
he  mentally  assured  himself  as  he  adjusted  his 
"set,"  switched  off,  and  pressed  the  phones 
close  in  to  his  ears. 

Through  these  phones,  as  he  listened,  came  a 
sound  as  feeble  and  minute  as  the  tick  of  that 


THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE  217 

insect  known  as  a  death-watch.  His  first 
thought  was  that  it  could  be  nothing  more  than 
a  mere  "echo-signal,"  from  too  high  intensity. 
His  second  thought  conviLced  him  that  this  was 
out  of  the  question ;  too  long  a  time  had  elapsed 
between  his  own  send  and  those  coherent  dots 
and  dashes  creeping  into  his  startled  ear.  It 
was  an  outside  message,  a  call  being  intercepted 
by  his  antennse.  Yet  the  signal  that  he  was 
reading  was  the  same  as  his  own  "Pt-Ba," 
*'Pt-Ba." 

HcKinnon's  hand  once  more  darted  out  to  his 
twitch,  and  his  face  was  alert  and  changing  with 
his  changing  thought  as  he  caught  up  his  key- 
lever.  And  again  the  blue  spark  exploded 
across  the  spark-gap,  and  the  cabin  walls  threw 
back  the  lightning-like  flash  and  pulse  of  the 
illumination.  Already  he  had  forgotten  the 
heat,  the  depressing  sense  of  frustration,  the 
brooding  consciousness  of  impending  defeat 
that  had  weighed  upon  him.  Switching  off,  he 
sat  with  inclined  head,  intently,  raptly  listening. 

He  was  startled  to  feel  a  huge  and  ape-like 
hand  suddenly  take  hold  of  his  arm. 

"What 're  you  getting?"  demanded  the  owner 
of  the  arm. 

It  was  Oanley  standing  there  dose  beside 
bim.  His  dark  face,  wet  with  perspiration, 
8^3m  in  the  strong  side-li|^  as  thou^  it  had 


218    THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE 


been  oiled.  His  peering  eyes  showed  in  two  thin 
crescents  of  white,  out  of  the  heavy  shadow 
made  by  thie  projecting  eye-bones. 

"Nothing,"  was  McKinnon's  sharp  retort. 
**I*m  only  trying  to  get  something." 

He  shook  the  detaining  hand  from  his  arm, 
and  gave  all  his  attention  to  his  call.  But  the 
intruder  was  not  to  be  so  easily  overridden. 

"Are  you  with  us?"  he  demanded,  preg- 
nantly, as  the  preoccupied  operator  again 
caught  up  the  phone-set. 

"Yes— yes,  I*m  with  you,"  cried  the  man, 
stooping  over  the  responder.  "Bnt  I'm  trying 
to  operate!" 

"What  in  hell  does  this  operating  count  if 
you*re  with  us?"  persisted  the  placid-toned 
Ganley,  determined,  apparently,  on  a  policy  of 
obstruction. 

"It's  this  call  that's  going  to  save  both  our 
scalps,"  was  the  abstracted  yet  hnrried  retort 

"How  save  my  scalp?"  demanded  Ganl^, 
with  a  detaining  hand  on  the  other's  fore-arm. 

The  stooping  McKinnon  straightened  up  and 
wheeled  on  him,  every  nerve  ready  to  snap  like 
an  overstrained  bowstring. 

"I've  got  to  catch  this  call  1  Don't  talk— fteep 
away  from  «ief" 

Ganley  loo'.ed  at  him  heavily.  He  did  not 
speak.  But  a  third  vdce  l^midered  abraptij; 


THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCE  219 


and  unexpectedly  through  the  hot  cabin.  It  was 
Captain  YandePs,  belligerent,  stentorian,  bull- 
like. 

"Come  out  o'  that  stationt'' 

The  man  addressed  did  not  move. 

''Come  out  o'  there  and  stop  interferin'  with 

my  men  I" 

Ganley  turned  his  head  slowly  about  and 
gazed  at  the  ship's  master.  But  otherwise  he 
showed  no  sign  of  having  heard. 

"Are  you  comin'  out  o'  there!"  demanded 
that  apoplectio-faced  oflScer,  in  a  roar  of 
inebriate  and  affronted  authority.  There  was 
no  evading  his  blind  and  unreasoning  anger. 
Ganley  shmgged  a  massive  shoulder. 

"Since  you  ask  me  so  politely,  I  s'pose  so," 
he  conceded,  with  his  mirthless  laugh.  Then  he 
placidly  turned  about  and  stepped  to  the  door- 
way, and  from  the  doorway  to  the  open  deck. 

"Now  you  get  below-decks  where  you  be- 
long!" 

The  gaze  of  the  two  men  met  and  loeked;  it 

was  like  the  clash  and  lock  of  elk-antlers. 

In  that  interlocked  gaze  lay  animal-like  chal- 
lenge and  counter-challenge,  threat  and  counter- 
threat,  malignant  fortitude  and  an  even  more 
malignant  defiance. 

G«iley,  with  a  lip-enrl  of  contempt,  thrust 


120    THE  COAST  OF  MISCHANCB 


his  hands  slowly  down  in  his  pockets,  and  then 
turned  on  his  heel  and  went  below. 

"What*re  you  gettin*t»*  Captain  Tandel  da- 
manded  of  the  man  cbapleted  with  the  shining 
band  of  steel  ending  in  two  small  black  knobs. 

**They  don't  answer  1"  cried  McKinnon,  with 
a  gasp  of  exasperation. 

"Don't  answer t"  demanded  the  captain. 

"No,  I've  lost  them  I"  was  the  bitter  cry  of 
the  man  bent  over  bis  coherer. 

The  ship's  master's  blasphemy  was  both  pro- 
longed and  voluble. 

"And  you  ain't  goin'  to  get  'emT" 

"I've  lost  them,"  was  the  repeated  and  al- 
most hopeless  answer.  The  morose-eyed  officer 
peered  at  the  operator's  drawn  and  sweats 
stained  face. 

"You're  makin'  a  devil  of  a  nice  mess  o*  this 
business,  between  you!"  he  declared,  with  a&> 
other  oath  of  disgust. 

The  wireless-operator  only  stared  at  his  in- 
struments, silently,  challengingly,  combatively. 


GHAPTEB  UX. 


nn  nrcnonnD^OALL 

It  was  two  hours  later  that  a  great  wida- 
■honldered  figure  in  white  duck  passed  quietly 
along  tiie  empty  bridge^eek.  Thii  ghort-Uks 
Hgon  eantioQsly  tried  the  door  of  Um  wiideaa 

room,  but  found  it  securely  locked.  Then  it 
crept  about  to  the  half-open  shutter  and  stood 
there,  minute  after  minute,  in  an  attitude  of  lis- 
tening. Beyond  the  unbroken  drone  of  the  elec- 
tric fan  there  was  nothing  to  be  heard  from 
within.  And  the  cabin  itself  was  in  utter  dark- 
ness. 

The  man  at  the  window  waited  for  etill  an- 
other space  of  time,  peering  back  and  forth 
along  the  deck  to  make  sure  that  his  movements 
were  unobserved.  Then  he  raised  a  cautions 
arm  and  slid  the  barred  shutter  farther  along  its 
groove. 

The  damp  wood  rasped  and  stattered  a  littte^ 

for  all  his  caution,  as  he  pushed  it,  and  he  drew 
quickly  back  from  the  window.  For  he  had 
heard  the  sound  of  a  sudden  half-artinnlatt 


222 


THE  INTEBCEPTED  CALL 


sigh,  followed  by  the  stir  of  a  body  moving  im- 
patiently on  a  mattresa,  and  then  fhe  quick  pad 
of  bare  feet  crossing  the  cabin  floor. 

It  was  McKinnon,  startled  out  of  liis  sleep 
of  utter  weariness  by  the  momentary  sound  of 

the  moving  shutter. 

He  turned  on  the  single-globed,  green-shaded 
electric  that  swung  low  over  his  operating-table. 
He  stood  there  in  his  emmpled  madras  pajamas, 
looting  dazedly  and  a  little  sleepily  about  the 
narrow  room. 

Then,  automatically,  from  sheer  force  of 
habit,  he  adjusted  his  "set"  over  his  head, 
swung  a  sleepy  hand  out  to  his  tuner-levers, 
pressed  the  phones  close  over  his  ears,  and  lis- 
tened. 

He  grew  tired  of  standing  th«re,  half-lean- 
ing against  the  sharp  table-edge,  as  he  listened, 

for  the  responder  had  given  no  sign  of  life.  So 
he  dropped  into  the  chair  before  his  instrument, 
and  sat  there,  yawning  sleepily,  with  ludi- 
crously wandering  eyes,  his  elbows  spread  wide 
and  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  nnpainted  pine 
hwrd. 

The  man  at  the  shuttered  window  could  see 
his  face,  half  in  the  strong  light  ol  i  shaded 
electric  globe.  He  could  see  the  bony  Imnd  move 
back  and  forth  to  the  tuner  and  shift  and  re- 
shift  the  buttons  in  the  slotted  box-top  columned 


THE  INTERCEPTED  CALL  223 

with  mmnk,  Ht  waUd  hmr  tlw  operator'i 

low  mumble  of  disappoiBtDaeiit  M  he  lilted  the 

"set"  from  his  hea^l,  disarranging  more  than 
ever  his  already  tousled  hair.  Then  the  lis- 
tener drew  clo-^er,  for  a  sudden  little  sound, 
half-gruut,  luOf-ccy,  had  broken  from  MoKin- 
non's  lips. 

The  phones  were  once  piore  held  down  hard 
m  his  ew8  as  he  stooped  forward,  this  time 


the  eohOTsr  ktd  steed  and  qoiveied  into 
Bit.  A  ^!nt  and  fMb  mUe  shower  of  ticks 
was  po^  j  ;  :ag  mkmMy  asainst  his  ear-dmms. 

Some  one  was  "sending." 

He  reached  out  and  drew  up  the  form-pad 
before  him  as  he  listened.  The  call  was  com- 
ing clearly  now,  repeated  again  and  again. 
"Pt-Ba,"  "Pt-Ba,"  came  the  query  through  the 
nigirt.  MeKinMo,  as  he  listened  and  "toned 
np*'  to  the  other  man's  tensity,  conld  recog^ 
nise  the  nature  of  the  "send"  as  one  would 
recognise  the  accent  of  a  Westerner  in  Boston 
or  a  Londoner  in  Dublin.  It  was  the  unmis- 
takable yet  undefinable  inflection  and  cadence 
of  a  navy  man.  It  was  an  American  battle- 
ship of  pane  sort,  calling  Paerto  Loc<milna. 

MeBSimon  was  on  his  feet  again,  tfwgHwg' 
with  enitan^t.  He  threw  down  his  switdi- 


224      THE  INTERCEPTED  CALL 


levBTj  caught  up  his  key,  and  sent  the  answer- 
ing call  rattling  and  exploding  across  his  spark- 
gap,  loud  above  the  purr  of  the  wakened 
dynamo. 

Then  he  turned  again  to  his  phones  and  lis- 
tened. They  had  not  tuned  up  to  him;  they 
*  had  not  picked  him  up.  For  still  again  came 
the  call  "Pt-Ba,"  "Pt-Ba."  It  was  out  of  the 
hours  for  sending.  The  engine-room  had  dimiiir 
ished  his  power,  leaving  him  without  voltage 
enough  to  make  a  "splash"  that  would  reacii 
the  war-ship. 

But  his  hand  went  out  to  his  form-pad  and 
he  bent  over  it,  busy  with  his  transcription,  as 
the  noise  pulsing  and  creeping  in  through  his 
receivers  translated  itself  into  intelligibility. 

TblB  is  cruiser  Princeton  lying  off  barbor  of  TorreblancS. 
Send  word  of  Ouariqui  situation.  Mobile  deipatch  two 
days  ato  reports  protection  wanted  for  American  iaterasta. 
Please  instmet  our  eoasol  sMd  immediate  advice. 

LnEDTBHAlTT  VODV. 

Then  came  a  minute  or  two  of  silence,  and 
then  the  call  again,  followed  by  the  repeated 
menage: 


Pt-Ba:  Are  you  asleepT  Why  does  Prinostoii  get  as 


THE  INTEBCEPTED  CALL  M 


And  still  again  came  the  silenoe,  and  still 
again  the  call,  indignant,  peremptory,  to  the  ap- 
preciatively trained  ear  as  eloquent  of  impa- 
tience in  its  microphonic  dots  and  dashes  as  the 
human  voice  itself  could  be. 

Automatically,  McKinnon  wrote  out  the  dfr* 
spatches,  word  for  word,  as  a  matter  of  record. 

His  chance  had  come  at  last:  all  he  now 
needed  was  power.  It  would  take  him  but  a 
minute  to  slip  down  to  the  engine-room,  he  con- 
cluded, as  he  threw  on  a  striped  green  bath- 
robe with  a  hood  like  a  monk's  cowl.  Then 
he  could  see  for  himself  that  they  were  sling- 
ing the  right  voltage  up  to  him. 

He  sprang  for  the  cabin  door,  unlocked  it, 
and  swung  it  open.  As  he  leaped  ont  across  the 
door-sill  he  ran  head-on  into  the  arms  of  Ganley. 

He  scarcely  looked  up.  His  one  thought  was 
to  reach  that  engine-room  and  to  reach  it  with- 
out loss  of  time.  He  accepted  the  momentary 
obstmction  as  nothing  more  than  a  dnmsy  sea- 
man who  had  scarcely  been  given  time  to  step 
aside.  He  struggled  to  edge  about  the  unyield- 
ing bulk,  swinging  to  one  side  with  a  preoccu- 
pied half-growl  of  impatience.  It  was  not  until 
he  found  himself  seized  and  almost  carried  back 
into  his  cabin  that  he  saw  either  the  meaning 
or  the  menace  of  the  situation. 

"Is  tliat  meisage  tot  met"  demanded  GtaAef, 


226     THE  INTEBCEPTBD  CALL 

his  huge  figure  blocking  the  doorway,  his  gla&M 
on  the  top  sheet  of  the  form-pad. 

'*NoI*'  was  the  quick  retort. 

Ganley  readied  back  and  swung  the  oaUn 
door  shnt. 

**I*d  likt  to  glance  over  that  message,"  sug- 
gested the  man  by  the  door.  His  tone  was  soft 
and  purring,  but  there  was  a  suggestion  of 
claws  behind  the  velvet. 

"This  is  only  ship's  business,"  explained 
McKinnon,  in  an  effort  at  appeasement.  Yet  he 
quietly  ripped  the  written  sheet  from  the  pad, 
his  spirit  of  latent  obduracy  now  well  stirred 
into  life. 

"Could  I  look  over  that  messaget"  repeated 
Ganley,  as  quietly  as  before. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  threat  in  his 
voice.  McKinnon,  eying  him,  saw  his  hand  drop 
down  to  his  side.  The  movement  was  quick  and 
casual.  But  when  the  hand  was  raised  again 
it  held  a  revolver,  a  heavy,  forty-four  eaHber 
thing  of  blue  gUMnetal,  witii  a  sawed-off  barrel. 
The  worn  comers  of  the  metal  glimmered  dis- 
agreeably, in  baleful  little  touches  of  high-light, 
as  Ganley  held  the  barrel  low,  dose  in  against 
the  other  man's  startled  body. 

"What's  this  for?"  asked  McSnnon,  his 
skirmishing  thought  fr«i»edly  ezj^orii^  ti» 


THE  INTERCEPTED  CALL  227 


fntnre,  seeking  for  liis  next  move  and  his  m- 

sons  for  it. 

"It*s  for  you!"  was  the  quiet  yet  sinister 
answer. 

'*Bnt  what's  the  good  of  fool  by-play  like 
thisf  protested  the  other,  still  wondering 

where  his  chance  was  to  come  in. 

"Could  I  look  over  that  message?"  reiterated 
Ganley,  with  no  trace  of  excitement  in  his  voice. 

The  eyes  of  the  two  men  met;  they  studied 
each  other  for  a  second  or  two  of  unbroken 
silence.  Then  the  operator  flmig  the  sheet  on 
the  pine  tabl  before  the  other  man.  Thesitiia^ 
tion  allowed  of  no  farther  equivocation. 

"Read  it,  of  course — ^if  you  want  to  I'* 

Ganley  pounced  on  it,  like  a  cat  on  a  cor- 
nered mouse.  He  backed  away  to  the  door,  but 
kept  his  revolver  still  poised  in  front  of  him 
while  he  read. 

McKinnon,  as  he  watched  the  gun-runner 
calmly  restore  the  sheet  of  paper  to  his  table, 
saw  the  chance  he  had  at  first  hoped  for  slq> 
past  him. 

"Don't  you  think  we'd  better  kill  that  mes- 
sagef"  Ganley  suggested  with  a  pregnant 
moyenient  of  his  right  hand. 

"Whyf "  asked  McSnnon.  He  was  stiU  try- 
ing to  think,  to  gain  time. 

"Yon  know  why,"  retorted  the  gon-runner. 


228     THE  IKTEBCEPTED  OALC 


The  operator  looked  at  his  apparatus,  at  the 
sheet  of  writing,  and  at  the  opponent  who  had 
his  heel  on  the  neck  of  the  situation.  Then  he 
laughed  in  the  purely  passionless  way  of  th© 
man  so  submerged  in  bitterness  that  fate  can 
bring  him  no  farther  sting. 

"I  don*t  see  why,"  he  answered,  siffl  chitdi- 
ing  about  for  some  forlorn  straw  of  deliveianoe. 
Ganley  came  a  step  or  two  nearer. 
"Ill  tell  you  why,"  he  said,  drawing  his 
gravely  interrogative  eyebrows  closer  to  hia  iiat 
nose-bridge. 

"I've  decided  to  be  up  here  on  this  deck  of 
yours  to-night^it's  going  to  be  more  comfor- 
table than  that  cabin  of  mine." 

"That'll  only  get  Yandel  down  on  yoo 
again!"  parried  the  other. 

"Mebbe  it  will— bxrt  seein'  this  is  our  last 
night  at  sea,  I'm  going  to  enjoy  it.  And  the 
sound  of  any  message,  of  any  message  what- 
ever, going  out  on  those  wires  up  tnere,  is  going 
to  spoil  my  night  I  Is  that  plain  enough  for 
youl" 

He  put  the  revolver  bade  in  his  podral  and 
waited.  The  operator  did  not  answer  him.  He 
knew  that  all  he  could  do  now  would  be  to  grope 
forward  slowly  and  blindly;  he  could  only  crawl 
and  test  and  wait,  like  a  crustacean  witb 


THE  INTEBCEPTED  CALL  229 


foolishly  waving  feelers.  Ganl^,  watching  him, 
backed  toward  the  door. 

"1*11  not  say  good-night,"  he  purred,  witii 
mock  affability.  **If  you're  still  in  doubt  about 
anything,  you'll  find  me  on  the  dedc  here  all 
rightl" 

The  operator  watched  him  as  he  went  through 
the  door  and  as  he  wheeled  about  for  one  malig- 
nant and  admonitory  stare  into  the  cabin. 
From  the  depths  of  his  soul  McKinnon  resented 
that  smile. 

"Yon  own  this  shipt"  he  asked,  with  a  quiet* 
ness  that  might  have  disturbed  a  less  intrepid 
spirit.  From  that  hour  forward,  he  was  begin- 
ning to  feel,  dissimulation  would  be  useless. 

"No,  but  I'm  going  to,"  was  Ganley's  placid 
retort.  He  had  taken  out  one  of  his  evil-look- 
ing thick,  black  cigars,  and  was  prooeeding  to 
light  it  with  the  utmost  Idsure. 

"And  this  is  your  apparatus t" 

"And  my  particular  little  comer  of  the 
earth,"  responded  Ganley,  with  the  studiously 
voluptuous  satisfaction  of  the  idealist  who  has 
achieved  his  dream. 

McSnnon's  eyes  narrowed.  The  taste  of 
being  beaten  at  the  only  game  he  knew  how  to 
play  was  growing  very  bitter  in  his  month. 

"And  supposing  I  can't  kill  this  message!" 
he  ventured.  Had  the  words  not  been  in  the 


230      THE  INTOBOBFrBD  CALL 


form  of  an  interrogatioTi,  they  might  have  been 
claimed  to  carry  tiie  weight  of  an  ultimatum. 

The  huge,  red-faced  figure  with  the  blaek 
cigar  leaa^  is  through  the  narrow  doorway. 

**I  thmk  you  wiU,  thoai^"  was  the  vagoely 
menacing  retort. 

"And  why!" 

Ganley  laughed  a  little. 

**Do  you  s'pose  I'm  going  to  let  a  couple  of 
children  like  you"— and  he  threw  a  woiid  of 
contempt  into  the  word  ''children''  as  he  ut- 
tered it— **step  in  and  try  to  stop  my  steani- 
roUert" 

**You  haven't  told  me  why?'*  mildly  inquired 
McKinnon,  more  and  more  becoming  master  of 
himself  again. 

"Well,  this  is  why,"  said  Ganley,  and  he 
leaned  closer  in  through  tiie  door  as  he  spoke. 
"If  yon  don't  choose  to  put  a  padlock  on  that 
wire,  I'm  going  to  put  a  padlock  on  youl" 

"Just  what  does  tiiat  meant"  was  the  quiet- 
voiced  inquiry. 

"It  means  that  you'll  kill  that  message,  or 
I'll  kill  your 

Then  Ganley  shut  the  cabin  door,  quietly,  tad 
the  operator  was  left  standing  alone  in  his 
station. 


CHAPTER  XX 


TBI  UBznniro  AziiT 

McEnmoir  was  aroused  by  a  qtas^ 
knock,  repeated  for  the  second  time.  He  took 
up  his  revolver,  slipped  it  into  the  loose  side 
pocket  of  his  bath-robei  and  cautiously  opened 
the  door. 

It  was  Alicia  Boynton  who  stepped  in  as  be 
did  so,  pushing  him  sharply  bad[  and  doaing 
the  door  even  more  sharply  after  her. 

Then  she  stood  confronting  him,  with  her 
finger  to  her  lips,  as  a  sign  for  silence.  McKin- 
non  had  long  since  learned  that  great  moments 
seldom  accord  with  their  setting,  that  catas- 
trophic seconds  are  often  wanting  in  cere- 
monial ffis  first  impulse  had  been  to  warn  her 
hurriedly  away.  Yet  it  was  not  the  d^Dger  that 
surrounded  her,  but  more  the  thought  of  his 
attire  and  its  simplicity  that  disturbed  and 
shocked  him.  His  embarrassment,  even  at  that 
moment,  was  greater  than  that  of  the  cahn-eyed 
girl's. 


232        THE  LISTENING  ALLT 


«What  is  itf "  asked  the  operator,  Bflitled  bf 
fhe  intent  look  on  her  listening  face. 

She  made  a  second  sign  for  silence.  Then  she 
took  a  deep  breath  of  relief.  For  the  first  time 
he  noticed  that  she  was  fully  dressed,  as 
though  for  land  travel.  Something  about  her 
conveyed  to  him  the  passing  impression  that 
die  was  as  disconcertingly  well-groomed  as  slie 
was  incongruously  at  ease.  Her  face,  under  the 
liea^y  nptnmed  veil,  still  carried  its  inalienable 
toneh  of  yontb  and  vigonr,  for  all  the  anxioo* 
shadow  about  the  eyes,  wbidi  scmrcely  betrayed 
the  fact  that  she  had  been  passing  troobled  and 
restless  nights. 

''I  have  heard  every  word,"  she  explained, 
in  her  low  and  intimate  tones. 

"Then  yon  know  what  a  mess  weVe  made  of 
it!" 

was  leanii^  on  the  rail,  under  the  bow 

of  the  life-boat,'*  she  went  on,  disregarding  his 
exclamation.  *  *  I  waited  until  Ganley  passed  be- 
hind the  officers*  quarters.  He's  walking  np 
and  down,  smoking— and  waiting.** 

"Did  he  see  yon  come  in  here!**  asked 
MeKinnon,  distressed  at  the  thought  that  here 
was  no  hospitality  and  no  harbour  he  eould  ex- 
tend to  her,  feeling  that  this  fight  was  his  own, 
and  his  alone. 


THE  USTENINO  ALLY  M 


*<No;  he  did  not  see  mt.  It  was  so  liot  be- 
low—I had  been  sitting  on  de^  for  an  beor." 

**You  mnst  go  below  I" 

* '  But  this  means  so  mncb — ^to-night.  I  ihonld 
be  here,  with  youl'* 

The  cahn  impersonality  of  her  declaration 
seemed  to  clear  the  air  like  a  thnnder-clap. 
McKinnon  knew  but  one  moment  of  wavering. 

"I*d  rather  yon  went  below,''  be  found  bim- 
lelf  saying,  at  the  very  moment  tbat  he  ftlt 
most  grateful  for  her  presence  fheie. 

"Whyt"  she  asked. 

"There  is  going  to  be  trouble  here^"  he 
warned  her.  * '  Yon  must  go  I " 

*'I  couldn't,  now,"  she  answered,  very 
simply.  ' '  And  we  are  wasting  time  in  talk  when 
every  moment  is  precious.  What  did  yon  pick 
up  by  wireless!" 

'*I  had  the  Princeton,  at  TorreUanea." 

*'The  Princetont  Then  we  ore  wasting  tee 
—we're  gettmg  farther  and  farther  away  from 
her  every  minute." 

"No,  that's  impossible  if  she's  actually  at 
Torreblanca.  We're  drawing  a  little  closer  to 
her,  if  anything.  The  danger  is  that  the  wire- 
less-operator will  leave  his  xostrmment  before  I 
can  call  again.  And  IVe  got  to  have  power 
from  the  engine-room.'' 


234        THE  USTENINQ  ALLY 


"Then  I'll  wateh  your  key  whilo  yon  go  bt- 
low,"  tlM  promptly  mggeitod. 
He  pondered  the  problem  for  a  moment  or 

two. 

"No,  that  would  only  be  exposing  yourself 
and  inviting  danger,"  she  amended.  **You 
must  give  me  the  message.  /  must  take  it  to  the 
engine-room.'* 

**I  conldnt  see  yon  taking  a  riak  lika  this," 
he  protested,  still  puzzling  over  the  problem. 

"There's  no  risk,  with  me,  because  no  one 
will  suspect.  And  yott  moat  stay  with  your 
key." 

He  lifted  his  revolver  from  his  bath-robe 
pocket,  after  another  moment  of  fhoiq^t. 

<<Thai  I  want  you  to  take  this,"  he  told  her, 
holding  it  oat  for  her.  He  noticrd  her  puzzled 
glance  up  into  his  face,  and  then  her  quick  and 
unequivocal  movement  of  repudiation.  They 
both  knew,  as  they  stood  facing  each  other,  that 
the  ever-narrowing  apex  of  the  dilemma  was 
crowding  up  to  its  final  climacteric  point. 

"I  coold  not  use  it,"  she  said,  shrinking  away 
from  ^e  shimmering  and  intimidating  little  in- 
strument of  death.  "I  will  not  even  need  it" 

"Then  yon  moat  not  be  seen  leaving  this 
station." 

"But  what  will  you  do— when  the  power 
comes!"  she  asked. 


THE  LISTENING  ALLY  235 


90^  io  imi/'  WM  lite  rqify.  "I'D 
ili^t  it  ont  wifh  Urn.  Ganky  en*!  dieteit  Io 
the  high  mm  of  the  world/* 

Even  in  anarchy  and  outlawry,  he  felt,  there 
had  to  be  some  final  substratmn  of  reason.  And 
Ganley  had  fallen  back  on  nothing  but  bmte 
force. 

'<Why  couldn't  I  go  to  the  captain!'*  she 
pleaded. 

''That's  worse  than  useless.  He's  dnmlc. 
And  w«11  only  get  Aim  against  vs,  for  he'd 
order  as  to  keep  out  of  the  mess.  He'dflg^shj 
of  entangling  alliances.  He'd  forbid  bm  to  aend, 
for  he's  got  his  ship  to  dear  from  that  port." 

"But  the  Princeton  would  be  "kit  piotaetiQiiy 
as  well  as  ours." 

"That's  true— but  the  man's  brain  is  too 
braaify-soaked  to  understand  such  a  situation. 
We've  got  to  aet  oorsdves,  and  on  our  own 
hook." 

He  told  her,  briefly,  the  way  to  the  engine- 
room.  Tlien  he  switched  off  his  light,  unlocked 
his  door,  and  glanced  out  to  see  that  the  way 
was  clear. 

Yet  ha  waited  at  that  open  door  with  his  re- 
▼ohrOT  in  his  hand,  er  ^  moment  of  the 
until  she  had  crossed  to  the  stair-head,  die 
had  passed  qnietly  down  fka  bras8-|^ted  steps, 


238        THE  LISTENING  ALLY 

Then  he  locked  himself  in  a^ain,  and  made  a 
mad  and  desperate  dash  into  his  clothes.  Thm 
he  unlimbered  his  revolver,  Mad  lt» 
chambers,  brought  «rt  kto       of  eattridfet, 

tad  Mir  tM  e?er7  mMim  ^  P^^^-  ^® 
liad,  l»7 12^  tinM,  more    ]««  nade     h^  mind 

as  1 1  hia  line  of  procedure. 

He  had  his  natural  ri^'hts  and  they  were 
going  to  be  respect^^.  There  would  be  no  more 
free-and-easy  invasion  of  his  station,  oo  m<w« 
lraecaneer*a  airy  tl»««ta  of  foreo.  HaWte^ 
Mia  a  ftxitall  (tf  lor  too  long:  he  hr  '  been 
wndai  and  ballied  and  browbeaten  like  -<  ree' 
curb  panhandler.  He  wa-  an  omciBl  with  offi 
cial  duties  to  |>erform.  The  full  sens*-  of  his  e- 
sponsibility  came  home  to  him,  a.  he  ook 
thought  of  *be  vast  and  ponito^w  i^cfe^  ^ 
behind  him,  of  the  wawvad  msA  gqpn^  fwroaa 
of  wMc^  lie  was  a  soPi  ^r  sner    The  time 
Ml  MM  to  act,  aad  he  ^  §  im  to  act  Ani 
1^  tbe  feat  movement      a  'cr  or  i  ?r- 

ferenee  from  Garil^v.  1    wol  a'  he 

had  long  since  learned  -i'  iuus*  ol.  be 
fact  tha'  when  he  :=i.jt  ue  seldr«ai  4«aM 
powder. 

Aa  ba  waitail  for      eagbe-roc  . 's  *  spon. 
to  Ito  4pMW  lit  tanai  Maatf  ' 


THE  IiI^flENINO  ALLT 

iho  cabin-window  with  a  shelf-board  wrenched 
from  his  close'  and  in  drawing  ont  his  trunk 
and  standing  it  on  end,  to  be  thoyed  againit  fhe 
kiekid  door  as  a  teiber  re-enf oreement  againat 
attack  from  oilside.  The  wall-plates  them- 
selvp' ,  he  knew,  could  never  be  penetrated  by  a 
bnll<  It  was  tlii'  wooden-shuttered  window 
hi     ue  door  alone  that  needed  defer  "^e. 

^  o  touch  of  fear  TPsted  on  McKi  ion  as  ht 
w  iced  out  his  plan,  ^int  by  point ;  it  was  more 
F  4exkv  as  to  tiie  ooteome  of  fhe  lOTfent, 
I  md  ith  wonder  as  to  whether  or  n^t  any 
<  ...tingeL  7  had  been  overlooked.  He  was  glad 
of  action,  of  something  against  whi<'h  to  direct 
his  stored-up  nervi  as  energy.  He  regrette^^ 
vaguely,  that  Alicia  had  in  any  way  beeii 
dragged  into  this  tri  by  fire,  that  she  had  in 
any  way  been  ider  %d  wi&  a  ooBdiat  ao  soiw 
did  and  demeaning  he  fdt,  ia  some  way, 
that  this  final  comb  to  subject  her  to  itbB 
acid-test  of  a  final  ity.   It  would  be  un- 

alloyed purity  of  purpose,  he  argued,  that  would 
keep  her  at  his  side  during  such  an  ordeal.  He 
almost  gloried  in  the  thought  that  such  an  un- 
equivocal and  anfhentie  aeal  was  to  be  pot  on  a 
rektionship  that  had  oaaa  iomfnfld  littia  more 
tlum: 


CHAPTER  XXI 


TBI  UHBXFKmD  BLOW 


MoKiKNON,  ill  at  ease,  tested  his  coils  and 
wondered  if  Alicia  had  indeed  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  engine-room.  Then  he  wondered 
if  she  were  once  more  safely  back  in  her  cabin. 
Then  all  thought  passed  away  from  him,  for  the 
light  patter  of  himied  footsteps,  followed  by 
an  oath  and  an  answering  cry  of  ahurm,  sounded 
from  outside  his  door. 


It  was  Ganley's  voice,  short  and  brusk.  The 
knob  of  the  locked  door  twisted  and  moved. 
The  new-comer,  whoever  it  was,  must  have 
canght  hold  of  this  knob  fnm  the  outside.  It 
was  equally  plain,  from  the  sonnd  of  the  mddm 
gasp  and  the  scuffle  that  followed,  that  Ganley 
had  flung  this  intercepted  visitor  aside  from  the 
door.  It  was  then,  and  only  then,  that  the  lis- 
tening operator  realised  who  that  new-oomer 
must  be. 

McKinnon  switched  out  his  light  before 


You  keep  out  o'  here!" 


T^yiR  UNEXPECTED  BLOW  239 

opened  the  door,  for  he  wanted  every  chance. 

The  first  message  that  flashed  to  his  brain 
was  that  it  was  very  dark  outside.  The  second 
was  that  a  great  malletlike  hand  had  descended 
unexpectedly  on  his  own,  out  of  this  darkness, 
and  had  sent  his  revolver  rattling  across  the 
hoards  of  the  oabin  floor.  Bm  next  was  the 
loKywiedge  of  clinching  and  writhing  and  strug- 
gling with  a  desperately  fighting  and  heaving 
hnlk  that  for  a  moment  bore  him  back  over  his 
door-sill. 

Then  came  a  brief  and  bitter  battle  for  niial 
seemed  to  be  a  short-barreled,  ]ieav74mtted  ra> 
volver  in  one  of  the  malktlike  hands.  Tl»  re- 
volver fell  away  from  them  both  in  the  hot  and 
stifling  blackness  of  the  oabin,  but  still  they 
clawed  and  panted  and  writhed  from  side  to 
side. 

' '  The  lights ! ' '  cried  the  warning  girl  through 
the  darkness. 

Then  came  sound  of  the  door  slammed 
dint,  and  the  girl  again  crying  to  McKinnon  to 
turn  on  the  lij^t.  He  dropped  low  and  twisted 
sharply,  tearing  himself  loose  from  the  apelike 
arms. 

"The  Ught--tnm  on  the  Ught  I*'  still  cried  the 
helpless  girl,  as  though  i^prehensive  of  some 
danger  hs  caM  not  f athcmL 


240      THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW 


for  Ids  light-Bwiteh  and  mapped  on  the  current. 
The  blank  darkneM  puffed  into  a  gnddai 
picture. 

It  showed  in  sparkling  high-lights  on  the 
wireless  apparatus.  It  revealed  the  huddled 
figure  of  Qanley  crouching  back  against  the 
sleeping-berth.  It  showed  the  white-faced  and 
twrified  woman  dose  hy  the  cabin  door.  But 
that  was  all;  for  in  the  next  second  the  lig^t 
went  out  again,  and  the  cabin  was  onee  more 
blanketed  in  utter  darkness. 

But  McKinnon,  in  that  brief  heart-throb  of 
illumination,  had  caught  and  fixed  in  his  mind's 
eye  the  position  of  his  fallen  revolver. 

He  was  already  on.  his  hands  and  kneei,  ott 
tiie  floor,  like  a  eat,  erawUng  to  the  farther  eor* 
aer  of  his  dynamo  base. 

The  silence  seemed  something  material,  some- 
thing smothering  and  choking  the  three 
watchers.  No  one  knew  from  what  quarter  the 
bolt  would  strike.  McKinnon's  fingers  padded 
feverishly  yet  silently  abont  the  floor,  explor- 
iag  tbe  area  hi  whidi  his  falkn  revolver  mmt 
Ha.  He  thought  he  had  it;  hot  his  %gers  had 
closed  only  on  his  heavy,  canvas-covered  dumb- 
bell. He  padded  farther  into  the  blackness,  feel- 
ing along  the  dynamo  base,  wondering  if  it  re 
blood  or  only  sweat  that  was  trickling  do^  ^^• 
face. 


OTB  UNEXPECTED  BLOW  241 


Then  he  gave  a  gasp  of  relief,  and  fell  back, 
slowly  drawing  himself  upright  as  he  retreated. 
He  had  recovered  the  revolver.  He  was  armed 
again;  he  was  once  more  able  to  face  the  situa- 
tion. All  he  wanted  now  was  to  get  the  woman 
out  of  the  way,  out  of  the  cabin,  if  possible. 
It  was  not  going  to  be  the  sort  of  thing  she 
should  face.  It  was  too  late  for  half-measures. 
He  had  been  subjected  to  too  much;  he  had 
gone  through  too  much.  There  could  be  no  pos- 
sibilities of  further  compromise.  He  felt, 
dimly,  that  it  would  be  horrible;  and  yet  he  felt 
that  it  had  to  be.  It  was  the  inevitable  and  ffaial 
movement  toward  which  all  others  had  centred. 

He  backed  toward  the  door  until  his  groping 
hand  came  in  contact  with  its  knob.  Then  he 
caught  at  the  girl's  arm,  and  half-pushed,  half- 
dragged  her  toward  the  threshold,  with  a  whis- 
pered *'Qtnekr* 

He  never  knew  whether  she  mistook  him  for 
Ganley,  or  whether  she  bad  detenniaed  to  re- 
main in  the  wireless  room,  even  against  his 
wishes.  But  she  did  not  go;  she  only  drew 
closer  in  to  the  wall  as  he  swung  the  door  open 
for  her. 

It  was  at  tibat  mmaent  that  Oanley  must  have 
eani^  some  iSm  silboiiette  of  bis  figure  against 
the  less  opaque  blackness  of  the  open  desk. 


242      THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW 


ley  swung  out  with  the  oak-framed  steamer- 
chair  which  he  had  already  caogbt  up  as  a 
weapon  of  defence. 

He  swung  it  short  and  quick,  with  a  forward 
and  elliptical  motion,  as  h»  leaned  ont  toward 
the  dimly  diseemed  diadow.  He  heard  it  strike 
^nne;  he  heard  the  inarticulate  little  half- 
groan,  half-sigh,  as  the  stonned  man  emmpled 
down  over  the  door-sill. 

Ganley  also  heard  the  woman's  cry  of  terror,* 
hut  he  had  other  things  to  think  of,  other  fish 
to  fry.  He  pawed  f renziedly  abont  the  cabin 
wall  nntil  he  foond  the  switdi,  and  tnmed  on 
the  lii^t  He  saw  McKinnon  still  sprawled 
half  over  his  door-sill;  he  saw  the  woman 
crouched  shield-like  over  his  body;  he  saw  the 
broken  steamer-chair  lying  on  the  cabin  floor. 
He  also  saw  the  heavy  iron  dumb-bell,  cov- 
ered with  rusted  canvas,  lying  at  his  feet,  not 
six  inches  from  the  dynamo  base.  The  terri- 
fied woman,  waiting  for  the  unknown  aid, 
sereamed  again,  and  still  again,  as  aha  saw  hfaa 
stoop  and  catch  it  up. 

It  was  not  until  the  great,  ape-like  arm  of  the 
gnn-mnner  bronght  the  dumb-bell  crashing 
down  on  the  operating  table  that  she  realised 
her  mistake,  that  his  actual  intention  flashed 
throQgli  hw. 

His  fury  now  was  not  being  directed  toward 


THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW  243 


McKinnon.  It  was  the  instrument  that  he  was 
attacking.  For  the  heavy  iron  had  struck  with 
a  crashing  blow  on  the  delicately  poised  re- 
sponder,  with  its  fragile  and  mysterious  co- 
herer, crushing  the  flimsy  mechanism  of  glass 
and  wood  and  uMtal  u  a  mallet  might  ernsh 
a  bird's  egg.  She  felt  MeEinnon's  mumbling 
and  struggling  body  und«r  her;  but  she  gave  it 
no  thought.  She  only  saw  and  knew  that  this 
maddened  brute  was  beating  the  very  heart  out 
of  their  wireless  apparatus,  that  with  every 
Uow  1m  was  crashing  her  last  hopes.  She 
dragged  and  wrendied  McKinnon 'a  revolver 
from  his  oatttretdied  hand.  Bot  before  she 
could  so  much  as  raise  it,  Ganley's  second  blow 
had  fallen.  This  time  it  fell  on  the  "key"  it- 
self,  tearing  the  heavy  metal  lever  free  from  its 
binding-post.  He  had  just  caught  it  up  and 
flung  it  malignantly  through  the  open  cabin 
doer,  whirling  oat  into  the  aea,  when  she  fired. 

Her  first  shot  went  wild.  Before  she  had  time 
for  a  second,  Ganley  had  wheeled  about  and 
sprung  on  her  through  the  smoke-filled  air.  The 
huge  forty-four  Colt  seemed  too  heavy  for  her, 
beyond  her  strength,  for  she  had  no  second 
dianoe  of  using  it,  of  poising  and  adjusting  and 
•ioiiaff  it,  as  she  knew  she  shoald  have. 

But  tUm  eaoght  at  him  and  ehmg  tp  him, 
Wiadly,  panting  and  screaminf,  woadering  why 


244      THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW 


wm  «w  ouM.  She  dmiff  and  dawtd  al  lilin 

Mke  a  cat,  nntil,  under  the  sheer  fury  of  that 
attack,  he  had  to  take  thought  to  defend  his- 
■elf. 

He  fell  back  a  step  or  two,  and  the  movement 
sent  them  both  falling  over  the  broken  steamer- 
chair,  grotesquely,  foolishly.  But  not  for  a  mo- 
ment did  the  woman  cease  to  %ht  and  scream. 
The  Bound  of  it  all  seemed  to  sting  the  dazed 
M^naon  into  a  coii8cioar»eM  of  what  was 
gcnagon.  He  pawed  about  at  the  wall,  fo^iUy, 
for  n^port,  Bke  a  chiki  learoiug  to  walk;  he 
cbmiBBed  himself  up  to  a  sitting  posture.  But 
before  he  could  struggle  to  his  feet,  Captain 
Tandel  and  an  officer  from  the  bridge  were  in 
the  cabin.  He  saw  them  tearing  and  dragging 
at  Ganley's  great  limbs.  He  saw  the  white  and 
panting  and  disheveled  group  once  more  up- 
rij^t,  eaofa  duddng  and  facing  the  olber.  Than 
for  the  flrrt  time  ha  saw  Ids  dismantlad  ap- 
paratus. 

"What's  this  shooting  on  my  shipf "  roared 
tin  captain. 

"That  cat  tried  to  kill  me!*'  cried  Ganley, 
breathing  short  and  quick.  The  woman  strug- 
gled to  speak,  but  the  captain  gave  her  no  at> 
tautiuu.  His  eye  for  the  first  time  had  fallen 
eK  IWS^"tifflB  laaiiiiig  againtt  tba  oahis  waQ| 


THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW  94& 


with  a  little  trickle  of  blood  namiog  down  ovtr 

one  swollen  cheek-bone. 

"What's  this  meant"  he  demanded  of  his 
operator.  McKinnon's  8'>"  had  come  back  to 
him  by  this  time.  But  r  *elessness  that  was 
almost  worse  than  deetn  ..self  crept  through 
him. 

"He's  killed  oar  wireleul  Our  wirdenl 
Gnit  jm  see  he's  kiUed  it  t" 

Tbe  eaptain'^  mental  state  wm  saeh  tbat 
IdsM  i&tered  into  the  strrow  seat  of  liis  eoiM 

scionsness  but  slowly. 
"But  how!  And  whyt*» 
"The  responderl"  gasped  IfcKiimoB. 
"But  what  of  itt»» 

"Look  at  that  responderl''  cried  the  opera- 
tof.  "It's  smashed.  And  the  key's  ruined  I 
Be's  eat  the  heart  oot  of  oar  apparatnsl" 

"But  I  want  to  know  the  meaning  of  tiiis  bar- 
room brawling  aboard  mj  sypt"  still  tbaa- 
dered  its  master. 

McKinnon  pointed  landward  savagely,  to- 
ward the  mangrove  swamps  and  mnqntj^jng  of 
Locombia. 

"He's  been  trying  to  stop  my  sending.  He 
said  he'd  kill  me  if  I  sent" 

"That's  a  lie,"  retorted  Ganley.  "He's 
workisg  with  this  wcHoan  to  ja(H^  messafsi 


246      THE  UKEXPECTED  BLOW 

forDnranl  Tb^'tt  maUof  « tool  of  700  and 

your  ship!" 

"That  shows  who's  making  a  tool  of  yon!" 
cried  McKinncr,  pointing  with  his  lean  and 
shaking  finger  to  the  shattered  respoiider.  Tfao 
ship  captain's  face  was  Motebed  and  pnrpliili 
and  honibla  to  look  at  by  this  tima. 

''And  he'a  killed  our  wirelesst" 

"Look  at  it,"  answered  McKinnon. 

For  the  second  time  Captain  Yandel  looked. 
The  indignity,  the  enormity  of  the  thing  threw 
him  into  a  slowly  growing  ecstasy  of  sublimated 

rage.  ,  , 

"And  wlio  ilied  that  shott"  ho  demaiided, 
wiHi  an  almost  volnptnoiis  delight  in  the  antio- 
ipation  of  forthwr  fool  Ik  a  atill  more  tower- 
ing fire. 

*'I  did,"  said  the  white-faced  woman. 

*'So  you  did,"  purred  the  captain,  slowly  re- 
leasing the  torrent.  "And  you're  a  nice  pair, 
the  two  of  you,  makin'  a  pot-house  of  miy  ahipl 
Ton  half-breed  IBibiistersI  You  garlio-eating 
outlaws!  You  miirdaria^  daYe-diivm*  tiaboni 
conspirators!" 

* '  Stop ! ' '  cried  MoKinnon. 

"Get  out  0'  here,  you  flimflam  beach- 
combers!" roared  on  the  unheeding  offico; 

"Get  oat  o'  my  sii^tl  Get  down  to  your 
ffi^m  and  itay;  there  imtil  jea're  pot  adMie 


THE  UNEXPECTED  BLOW  247 


at  Puerto  Loeombia,  or  the  living  God,  if 
yon  80  much  as  show  a  nose  outside  your  doora, 
I  'II  clap  the  whole  lot  o '  yon  into  irons  and  carry 
yon  back  to  New  York  harbour  !'* 

It  meant  nothing  to  the  weak  and  bewildered 
girl,  after  what  she  had  gone  throngh,  bnt  it 
woonded  some  inner  and  ever  guarded  part  of 
her  to  see  that  McKinnon  made  no  effort  to  in- 
tervene, that  he  had  not  stepped  in  and  QKdEsn 
for  her. 

It  was  not  nntil  his  steadying  glance  met  hers 
that  she  began  to  realise  he  was  holding  some- 
thing in  reserve,  that  he  had  his  reasons,  that 
ha  was  plotting  oat  soma  new  line  of  proeadait, 
and  with  this  diseovery  came  a  renewed  memory 
of  the  hopelessness  of  their  position,  of  the 
dangers  confronting  them,  of  the  last  avenne  of 
delivery  that  had  been  cnt  off  from  them.  The 
blasphemy  and  trucnlence  of  a  ship  captain 
meant  nothing  to  her;  the  satyr-like  exultation 
of  Ganley  meant  nothing.  1^  knew  that  dia 
had  been  fighting  for  life,  or  something  ahnost 
as  worthy  as  life.  And  she  knew  that  the  4|^t 
had  by  no  means  approached  its  end. 


CHAPTEB  XXH 


XHl  FBIMORDIAL  HOUB 

It  was  nothing  but  an  eye-glanoe  that  pMitd 
between  Alicia  and  McKinnon.  Tet  in  tbat 
fraction  of  a  second  intimacies  flashed  between 
them,  a  message  was  delivered  and  received, 
the  encouragement  of  one  lonely  sonl  offering 
its  help  to  another  was  cryptically  given  and 
taken.  It  showed  her,  too,  that  judgment  and 
intelligence  were  once  more  on  thdr  throw 
with  her  ally,  that  he  was  no  longer  beating 
and  threshmg  his  Way  about  on  the  primordial 
sloughs  of  mere  assanlt  and  defence.  He  was  a 
thinking  being  once  more,  with  his  own  secret 
ends  and  his  own  secret  means  to  them.  And 
she  was  sick  of  the  primordial;  every  woman's 
fibre  in  her  body  was  offended  and  felt  degraded 
by  that  caveman's  hand-to-hand  throni^ 
which  she  had  passed. 
The  shaking-limbed  captain  had  swnng  about 

on  McKinnon. 
"Have  yon  picked  up  anything  about  fightiii' 


SH£  PBDIOBDIAL  HOUB  249 


Is  fheret"  he  demanded,  wit*'  hit  gattnral  nm- 
ning  obligato  of  mariner's  oaths.  "Or  have 
yon  been  too  taken  np  with  yonr  own  fightin'f " 
"IVe  picked  np  nothing,"  was  McEinnon's 
answer. 

'*Tfa«i  why  cant  yon  get  Qnariqidt" 
Tbib  ahip't  maatar  iraa  aHU  atow  bk  graspfaig 

the  sitnation. 

"I  tell  yon  we're  cat  off  from  tveiythiiif  I 
ICy  responder's  gonel" 

"Can't  you  fix  itr» 

"Nol'» 

"Yon  eaatt" 

'*llbi  mileea  tliere'i  a  De  Fonat  mpender 

bronght  aboard  from  Puerto  Loooalrfa.*' 

"Can't  yon  shift  without  it!" 

"No  more  than  yon  can  live  without  a  heart" 

The  captain  turned  on  the  strangely  placid- 
eyed  and  listening  Ganley.  The  latter 's  indif- 
fereaee  ■ecmed  to  ating  him  into  a  renewed 
eeitaay  of  anger. 

"YonH  cool  your  heels  in  the  Puerto  Looom- 
bia  quartet  for  this,"  he  declared,  with  another 
of  his  explosive  oaths.  "  I  '11  aoon  hand 

you  over  where  you  belong!" 

His  threat  had  no  ponderable  effect  on  his 
plaeld-eyed  liatesMr.  The  gaB-nmner'a  heavy 
iaef^  with  its  hovmdUkt,  pendolons  fKW% 
jSm  dioq^aif4idiHl»  im^hmi  em  vitli  OUa: 


250      THE  PBDIOBDIAIi  HOUB 


mlilaaiWiig  toofc  of  pathot,  Kgntd  to  Aam  aofl^ 

ing  but  a  patient  forbearance. 

*'I  want  you  to  get  that  conple  where  they 
belong,  * '  he  calmly  and  slowly  replied.  '  *  I  want 
that  woman  put  where  she  won't  be  taking  pot- 
shots at  every  passenger  she  doesn't  like  I'' 

Tht  waHiag  and  widened  gronp  al  ^  door 
bad  laeroased  by  this  time,  until  their  bodies, 
prwsinn  dois^  shut  all  air  from  the  crowded 
cabin.  The  captain  shouldered  them  back  sav- 
agely. That  his  authority  should  be  ovarrid- 
den,  in  his  own  ship,  on  his  own  deoki  was  mo'  a 
than  he  oonid  endure. 

'*G«t  ont  o'  btrt  r  bo  eriod,  in  bio  wMaof 
and  kconsequential  rafo.  ''Qol  onl  o'  tiili 
eabin,  or  111  throw  yon  out!*' 

The  ship's  mate,  a  wiry  Costa  Bican  with  the 
hungry  and  predaceous  face  of  a  pirate,  i;iade 
an  effort  to  forestall  his  superior  officer's  in- 
tention. He  dropped  the  Ieath«r-eoverodbridgO> 
toloMopo  wMxt  in  Ms  baste  be  bad  oanriod  wifli 
bim,  a^  oanght  the  rebellious  passenger  bj  tto 
right  arm,  as  though  to  drag  him  forth. 

But  one  sweep  of  that  huge  right  arm  sent 
the  mate  stumbling  and  falling  over  the  mins 
of  the  steamer-chair. 

Oaptain  Tandel  beheld  that  offonoe,  and  U 
ten  bim  no  longer  a  reasoning  bdag.  Hit  teat 
sense  of  ord«r  and  rii^  bad  }mm 


THE  PBIMOBDUL  HOUB  261 


wtraged.  He  caught  i  p  the  leather-covered 
bridge-telescopc.  He  swung  it  circlingly  back, 
above  his  hoad,  as  a  blact^'smith  swings  a  sledge. 
He  would  have  brought  that  poised  cylinder  of 
glass  and  steel  blindly  down  on  the  oUier  man'i 
sknll,  had  the  ship's  mate  not  caught  the  end  of 
the  teleeeope  and  stopped  Hkt  wndmtm  Uoir. 

**Toa  coward  I'*  said  Oaol^y,  wlthoiil  mmiag. 
The  two  ship's  offioen  itiU  itood  than,  antomst- 
Kally  and  blindly  and  groteaqnely  conteaAaf 
for  the  cylinder  of  leather-covered  steel. 

"Not  that  way,"  eiiad  the  mate.  ^'DontkiU 
hbn!" 

"Yes,  in  kill  himf"  raged  the  captain.  "I'U 
kill  him  any  way  he  wants  I" 
"Then  fight  it  out  on  deck— fis^t  it  out  lika 

rnfrn  V* 

'Fiidit  H  oirtt*'  echoed  a  half-caate  daok- 

ux'i  i,  sbrilly,  carried  away  by  his  feelings,  as 
Die  (n  owd  surged  oat  m.u>  the  of«i  tg&om  ol  tba 
star-lit  deck. 

"Yes,  fight  it  out,  by  God!"  bellowed  the  in- 
furiated and  unreasoning  ship's  captain,  peel- 
ing his  coat  uid  waving  back  %t  iirde  of 
<mloiiken.  "Fig^  it  out,  ^  ant" 

Heilig,  the  duef-eagina«,  pvdied  Hiiongli 
the  protesting  crowd. 

"Captain,"  he  said  in  his  slow  and  gloosiy 


252       THE  PRIMORDIAL  HOUR 


monotone,  "what  call've  ynh  got  to  ffo  prin- 
fightin'  on  your  own  shipf" 

"Shot  upT'  howled  back  his  superior  o(Boer. 
"Got  backl" 

**Why*ro  ynh  <i^tia'  with  a  ho-ridaoonot 
like  himf"  persisted  the  other. 

"Get  back!  Gi' me  room!*' 

The  gloomy  misanthrope  of  the  engine-room 
did  not  move.  He  stood  r^;arding  the  cirdo 
with  calm  and  scoffing  eyes. 

"It  ain't  fittin»,»»  he  slowly  objected.  "And 
it  ain't  ri|^tt*' 

" Right T  I  know  my  rights!"  yriped  htak 
Captain  Tandel,  waving  the  interloper  aside. 

He  rolled  np  his  sleeves,  with  shaking  handi, 
disclosing  strangely  fashioned  tattooed  ^gnres 
on  his  thick  and  hirsute  forearms. 

MoKinnon  closed  the  door,  that  the  woman  in 
the  oabin  might  not  see.  There  was  tho  sovacl 
of  a  boatswain's  whisttei  a  mnrmnr  of  ToioM, 
a  quick  shnffii^  of  foot.  A  space  was  cleared 
on  the  deck,  promptly,  solemnly,  as  though  for 
the  despatch  of  some  casual  and  duly  appointed 
ship's  business.  Then  the  circle  re-formed, 
watching  and  rilent,  waiting  with  set  faces,  for 
what  was  to  eono.  And  MeKliiiio&  saw  tiiat  it 
was  indeed  to  oome,  that  thara  wai  no  omi^ 
iag  it 

For  OM  moment  only  did  Gaaiey  hetitata. 


TBB  PBDf OBDIAL  HOUB  2S8 


Jotl  onoe  did  tiit  deepset  and  maHcioiit  HlOt 

eyes  shift  in  one  sidelong  glanee  of  hesitancy. 
MoKinnon,  from  his  cabin  door,  oonid  see  that 
look.  He  conld  see  the  change  of  colour  that 
crept  alowly  np  throngh  the  gnn-mnner's  flaccid 
Um,  It  Sd  not  blanch,  bnt  it  merged  from  a 
bfkk-dBtl  tint  to  tiM  daMMmma  tea  of  m- 
tanned  leather.  Tt  baeama  cadaTtroBa,  aad 
horrible  to  look  at  Even  then  he  mnst  have 
seen  and  known  that  it  was  all  madness,  that  it 
was  more  than  useless,  that  it  solved  no  prob- 
lems and  settled  no  iasnea.  Bat  be  had  no 
AoioB  left  to  him. 

MeSmioB'a  ilrat  thought,  aa  bo  watted,  waa 
that  Oanley  would  never  i%ht  fair.  Tim  lia  be- 
held the  dose-packed  drde  of  rough  and 
waiting  faces,  of  bare-armed  and  hard-eyed 
watchers— for  even  the  stokers'  hole  had 
vomited  forth  its  soot-streaked,  naked-shoul- 
darod  diildren  of  wonder— «nd  he  knew  that  the 
ffiBi-iiiiiiier  eoirid  gain  nothing  by  trickery.  The 
feriiM  and  active  brain  boaaed  ia  tba  groat  nm- 
browned  skull  would  be  of  no  use  to  him  in  thia. 
The  adroit  and  vulpine  intelligence  beyond  ita 
screening  frontal  bone  could  now  flash  out  no 
path  of  deliverance.  He  was  confronted  by 
passiofM  that  were  adamitic  in  their  primitive- 
Mat,  bj  f onaa  that  baionged  to  the  world  of 
4im  tti  tMhi  «ii  tidoM, 


254       THE  PBI1K>BDIAL  HOUB 

Then  the  two  men  fonght. 

It  seemed  grotesqne,  at  first,  to  the  wearied 
and  indifferently  watching  McKinnon.  It  made 
him  think  of  a  combat  between  two  batchers, 
two  gross  bntohen  k  wUte.  Tkmn  wm 
something  huBefOQi  fall     two  hMiry  sod  hiTcli- 

ing  and  staggering  bodies,  lunging  at  each 
other,  like  Pleistocene  beasts  from  the  twilight 
of  time,  like  primordial  monsters  in  the  bitter 
and  bmtal  combat  of  bitter  and  brutal  ages. 
The  sweat  oozed  ont  on  their  skins.  It  dia- 
monded their  faces.  Then  the  bends  of  moto- 
tnre  ran  together,  and  gathered  into  dow  nm- 
nelt  thai  nnarted  in  their  eyes  and  moistened 
their  necia  and  dripped  on  their  dothirg,  mot^ 
tied  more  and  more  with  splashes  of  red. 

Then  it  became  bmtish.  It  became  blind  and 
ponderous,  like  a  bull-fight.  It  impressed 
MoKinnon  as  something  worflmly  pathetic  it 
was  io  nielois  chI  Mfeaeo^ig^  to  IMlli  nd 
fooliih,  hi  the  iiee  of  all  the  vaster  problema 
that  confronted  that  lonely  steamnhip  and  the 
lives  she  carried.  It  did  not  horrify  him,  for 
by  this  time  he  was  beyond  horror,  as  a 
swimmer  is  beyond  thonght  of  a  passing  nua- 
shower.  ^  ^ 

Then  it  kiitMt  ilAralaii  fkt  iMpii  m 
lone  Mi  M  09  iesi  mfiimm  seemed  demean- 
i^mI  ^bw^^taff  is  As  dMii  ilii^ri^ 


THE  PBIMOBDIAL  HOUB  2U 


ing  onlooker.  The  hoi         sk;  wlM  lift 

breathing  a  burden  to  even  the  untaxed  Inngs, 
made  the  gasping  of  the  two  combatants  audible 
and  vocal,  made  it  pitiful,  like  the  gasps  of  the 
drowning,  made  it  short  and  guttural,  like  the 
toBgne-efaolnd  eliMt  heaves  of  an  amesthetised 
pstient  The  fig^tertbeeame  two  vaguely  hMT- 
ing  and  gasf^  white  hulka  Uolibtd  wtth 
blood.  There  seemed  something  more  than 
sinister  in  their  dogged  persistence.  It  became 
Satanic.  It  grew  into  an  affront  to  manhood, 
an  insult  to  the  quiet  stars  that  looked  down  on 
ii  It  beoune  a  Hving  nightmare,  in  which  two 
eoiM  and  itrikhig  aai  toahing  Hates 
emerged  from  a  slime  tlu^  waa  aatadflaylaii. 

McKinnon  turned  away,  sick  and  faint.  For 
he  had  seen  one  of  the  red-blotched  hulks  fall 
back  and  lie  full  length  on  the  deck.  He  had 
seen  the  Laminian's  captain  lean  over  that  pros- 
teatt  figure,  weakly,  swaying  forward  and  then 
''fcwt  he  ww*l  iMly  have  fallen, 
had  one  of  his  sailors  not  V^waitt  Ifca 
armpits  and  held  him  up.  U  was  ovm 

McKinnon   heard   the  guttering  yelp  of 
triumph  the  unreasoning  and  vapid  snarl  of 
MooeM,  of  the  ship's  roaster  who  bad  ro  oitab 
MMi  Mb  #ipatad  mastership. 


GHAPTEB  : 


TMM  UOAVSUHD  MMf 

McKiNNON  turned  from  the  quiet  and  horror- 
stricken  figure  of  Alicia,  huddled  back  on  his 
btrth-end,  and  contemplated  what  was  left  of 
Ui  brvte  «mI  teutttled  apparahis.  He  felt 
liiM  a  efaiki  in  as  opm  beat,  wilkont  oan,  ai»- 
proaehing  an  inevitable  Niagara. 

Then  he  turned  back  to  the  girl.  There  waa 
no  message  (d  consolation  he  could  bring  to  her. 
It  came  slowly  home  to  him  how  hopeless  the 
entire  future  stretd^ed  before  them.  A  great 
kiMI  §m  ^  tla^  on  wbidi  he  stood  grew  op 
mMML  Hb apkH mvoltad agidnat tha iMmta 
it  had  housed,  against  the  ordeaUi  thrmigh 
which  it  had  thrust  a  tender  and  innocent  lifa^ 
against  the  enigmatic  perils  with  which  it  waa 
still  to  threaten  that  life  and  his  own. 

Then  he  grew  cahuer-thoughted.  He  began  to 
grope  and  piabe  aboot  for  explanations  that 
wonidsiirtaiiiher.  Bst  tbe  waa  a  ItaitleM 
mm,  Am  waa  Bothinf  to  aaj.  laatiaelhr^. 


THE  BEGAPTUBED  KET  857 

b«  stooped  oyer  lier,  he  touched  her  hand  aad 
nmrmnredx  "I'm  sorry."  He  was  a  man  of 
action  always  before  one  of  emotion.  Bnt  he 
had  to  swallow  hard,  to  dear  the  lump  from  his 
throat  as  he  spoke. 

He  stroked  the  passive  hand  that  lay  on  his 
pillow,  with  the  rongh  timidity  with  which  a 
seaman  might  stroke  a  tired  and  captnred  land 
bird.  Then  he  drew  back  his  berth-cnrtain  and 
lifted  his  electric  fan  from  its  shelf,  placing  it 
on  the  operating-table  so  that  the  cnrrent  of 
air  from  its  whirring  wings  might  blow  in  to 
where  she  rested.  Then  he  locked  and  bolted 
and  donbly  secnred  his  eabiii  door. 

"Is  it  hopelesst*'  she  asked  at  last,  without 
tnming  her  face  to  him.  She  stmggled  to  ask 
it  casually,  bnt  the  bitter  listlessness  of  her 
voice  translated  every  tone  and  word  of  that 
question  into  the  notes  of  utter  tragedy. 

*<No,  it's  not  hopeless,"  he  said,  combatively, 
aggressively,  for  her  sake  alone.  "This  it  a 
De  Foreat  atation.  We  have  the  iatamational 
rights  common  to  all  wireless  .>:jeration.  We 
can  stand  on  those  rights.  We  can  hold  tbia 
room  until  help  of  some  sort  arrives." 

It  was  foolish,  he  knew,  even  as  he  uttered 
it  They  could  be  driven  out,  or  starved  oat, 
or  baked  out,  in  a  single  day.  Ttl  aa  1m  kapl 
iqp  Hm  pliaiapt  fioHoB,  ho  wm  fiilwitt^y  i^ti 


258       THE  BECAPTUBED  KEY 


of  her  presence  there.  He  needed  her,  not  be- 
canse  she  could  buoy  him  np  to  meet  implacable 
adversities,  but  to  compel  him  to  sustain  him- 
self for  her  sake. 

'*We  ean  attadi  a  powmMvin  to  that  dStim 
door-Imdle,  so  that  no  om  daft  tondi  it  We 
am  nm  a  wire  to  " 

His  voice  trailed  off  and  went  ont,  like  a 
burnt  fuse.  The  change  that  had  come  over 
him  was  so  sndden  that  the  woman  tnmed  and 
sat  np. 

"Wait!"  he  ealled,  in  a  Toiee  ae Ui^-pttebed 
it  sonnded  what  waa  ahnoat  a  treble  note. 

"Wait!" 

He  stood  rooted  to  the  spot  for  a  moment, 
petrified  by  the  new  thought  that  had  come  to 
him. 

"It's  not  hopeless!"  he  eried  exultantly. 
"What  ia  Itt"  naked  the  other,  oonfronting 
him. 

"It  can  be  done!  The  models!  My  telephony 
models!  They  eanry  what  ia  praetioally  a  re* 
sponder!" 

The  woman  watched  him,  wide-eyed,  for  he 
was  down  on  the  floor,  on  his  knees,  before  the 
bos  of  modela,  lifting  ont  strange  and  delieate 
Mta  id  madiinery-Hnachinery  for  which  ahe 
had  always  felt  a  certain  fear  and  aloofness, 
daee  the  qniet  evening  he  had  spoken  to  hi^ 


THE  RECAPTURED  KEY  259 


of  high-freqnenoy  MoUatioiit  mad  radioM  and 

ionising  gases. 
"I  tell  you  I  can  make  it  work!*'  he  exulted. 
"Work!"  she  echoed. 

"ItH  tidte  Mme,  it'll  tBk»  Mbemia^  M I  en 
do  it!  I  em  have  the  whole  tfafaig  rigged 
bjr  daylight.  By  mming  I  eta  he  enffiBg  did 

receiving  again!" 

He  was  on  his  feet  hy  this  time,  trying  to 
explain  it  to  her. 

''My  key's  gone,  yon  see;  bnt  that  doesn't 
makeitlM^leis.  I  ean  adjnit  a  piece  of  heavy 
oqpper  ^re  to  my  rear  bia^igipoet  kaie. 
Then  I  can  take  the  other  end  of  that  nire  mi 
touch  it  at  the  contaet-point  here  where  my  key 
nsed  to  strike.  I  can  spell  ont  the  Morse  that 
way,  word  by  word.  We'll  be  able  to  talk! 
We'll  be  able  to  send  ont  onr  message!" 

"Ii  this  true  f"  she  asked,  her  wide  and 
■hBiewjF  eyee  eear^nri^ 

"Yes,  it's  true!" 

"Quite  truet" 

"Every  wmd  of  ^  or  I  dai^  Jamf  i^ 

less!" 

"That  mean»  we  can  call  the  Princeton." 

"We'll  be  still  closer  by  morning.  I'll  be 
ready  and  waiting  by  the  Ubm  thdr  openlar  k 
at  hie  key.  And  by  noon  we  OB|^t  to  ^Mr  i||p' 
€hiar^ai,  if  we  pawed  the  Toa^mm  Ui0mm 


THB  BBOAPTtTBlD  KEY 


three  hours  ago— no,  before  that,  any  time  tft«r 

Bunrisel" 

**U  they  are  itiU  eending!"  add  the  wonun. 
'*They  miMl  ht  aoMHiig,"  eried  MeKhoflB, 
as  he  bent  over  his  mysterious  instmmeila. 

"They  mnst  be,  or  the  Princeton  would  never 
have  been  calling  them  the  way  she  was.'* 

"Then  I  must  help  yon  in  some  way!** 

"No,  yon  mnst  rest  This  is  work  I  have  to 
do  alone.  Ton  are  worn  out;  you  mnst  bav« 
Mst  Ton  must  sleep  if  you  eta." 

"And  youf  **  she  asked. 

"Oh,  I'll  be  working  this  ont  1%ere*ll  be 
no  sleeping  in  ti|i»  plaoe,  yon  know,  oaoe  I  atari 
to  send!" 

"Bnt  I  meant  that  you  need  rest,"  she  ex- 
plained. 

He  oorid  mn  langh  now,  alttsui^  his 
lasi^tw  waa  both  brief  and  inreoeeopiad. 

"Rest!"  he  cued.  "I'm  good  for  two  daya 
withont  a  drop  of  it,  once  I've  got  things  golBg 
the  way  T  n  trying  to  make  them  go.** 

She  watched  the  white  electric  light  of  the 
drop-globe  pou.  down  on  his  bent  and  con- 
stMrtly  shifUng  head.  She  ooold  aaa  tba  Ut^ 
bla^  stain  of  dried  Uood  on  bia  twnpla.  Ska 
ooold  also  see  the  sweat  mnning  down  the  sida 
of  his  face,  between  his  cheek-bone  and  his  ear. 
For  some  inexplicable  reason,  aba  fava  • 


throaty  and  inarticnlate  little  gasp  of  gratitude. 

''What  is  itV  he  asked,  looking  np  quickly. 

''KotUiif  I"  ihe  anawered,  turning  away  her 
kind  80  that  iM  wmdd  not  im  a  fooUib  tma  or 

two  in  her  eyes. 

"I  said  things  would  go  onr  way— and  tliay 
wiUr*  he  declared,  mminatively.  "Once  we  get 
this  message  out,  we'll  have  three  hundred 
American  bluejackets  up  in  Qoariqai  inside  of 
two  dayal" 

"And  Oanleyf "  alio  aakad. 

"Oh,  Ganley  will  be  abont  again,  and 
much  alive  by  that  timet" 

"But  what  will  he  do— what  could  he  do,  if 
we  reach  Puerto  Looombia  before  the  Prine^ 
Umt" 

Ha  aat  baek,  deep  in  troiiblid  thought. 

"That  is  the  one  tiling  I  don*t  know,  I  eant 
t^  He 'a  hinted  at  some  tramp  card  got 
np  his  slaaya  bntha'a  given  no  inkliBg  of  what 

it  is." 

"Then  we  can  only  wait!" 

"Yes,  we  can  only  wait!" 

1%0B  the  tii^itesed  jaw-tendons  relaxed  into 
his  quick  and  oondliating  nnOo.  «Bat 
should  we  waste  thought  on  things  like  thatt'* 
he  cried,  with  his  forced  yet  valiant  laugh. 
"We|re  going  to  have  a  banana-train  filled  with 
machine  guns  climbing  np  through  those  ^lilif 


262       THE  BECAPTUBED  EET 

and  every  rebel  ialiowMaiiirtgfiglMM^ 

of  three  days  I*' 

Alicia  Boynton  did  not  answer  him  as  ha 
stooped  and  studied  and  worked.  Bnt  she  sat 
there,  with  her  hands  clasped  loosely  together, 
gnlefnlly  and  usKtf  wMAag  iSb»  Mnraolt 
U^t  thai  Om  nHnging  tlMlrle  nudi  aboiil 
wiiatoM  optfitw'i  haad* 


GHAPTEB  XXIV 


THE  CALL  JOB  HILP 

Taam  did  not  go  UeKliiiion'i  wt^  m  easily 

M  iM  Imd  expected,  mr  hid  10  tesfvlj  imltndtd 

to  expect.  The  first  gray  tinge  of  mag^tag, 
deepening  slowly  to  pearl,  showed  along  the 
eastern  sky-line  before  he  had  <»«>"«pMfd  his 
task.  ^ 

Ha  sat  back  with  a  sigh  of  relief;  he  sat  back 
Hka  a  god  who  had  waariad  of  ereation,  looking 
OBhia  woricaadaadngihalit  waagood.  Tlia 

gray  and  pearl  along  tha  sky-line  had  by  tUa 
tune  turned  to  pale  rose,  and  slender  pencils 
of  light  were  showing  through  tha  ia  Ua 
cabin  shntter. 

Alida  Boynton  was  still  asleep  on  his  nar- 
low  barfli.  So  nanov  waa  her  resting-plaoa» 
and  so  quiet  her  toaalhiBg,  tiiat  It  iomnad  to 
him  as  though  she  were  lying  la  a  8ha 
had  dropped  off  into  that  sleep  of  utter  weari- 
ness against  her  will.  She  had  resolved  to  be 
with  him  and  near  him  evaiy  mfflntnt  of  his 


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264 


THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 


labour,  but  the  intrigaing  clums  of  thA  body 
had  dethroned  her  volition. 

And  now,  as  he  gazed  down  at  her  flower- 
like  and  tranquil  face,  he  dreaded  to  waken  her. 
He  felt  touched,  as  he  watched  the  quiet  throb 
of  the  pulse  in  her  bine-veined  temple  where 
the  dark  and  heavily  massed  brown  hair  had 
fallen  back,  with  a  sense  of  mystery  before  the 
andent  miracle  of  sleep.  He  wondered  where 
her  escaped  spirit  had  gone  to;  it  seemed  noth- 
ing more  than  the  quiescent  shell  of  her,  the 
empty  hnsk  of  her,  that  he  stood  and  wat<^ed. 

A  wayward  sense  of  loneUness,  of  deserticm, 
crept  over  him,  and  he  turned  abont,  not  un- 
gratefully, to  listen  to  the  familiar  swish  of 
deck-hose  and  thump  of  holy-stone  as  the  early 
awakened  deck-crew  washed  down  the  decks.  It 
was  commonplace  enough,  that  swish  of  sea- 
water  and  thump  of  mumbling  workers.  But 
at  the  moment  there  was  something  wordlessly 
companionable  in  it  to  the  listening  McKinnon. 
It  reminded  him  that  the  every-day  trivialities, 
the  orderly  actualities  that  sustain  the  ma- 
chinery of  life,  must  always  go  on,  no  matter 
how  close  may  brood  the  spirit  of  outer  tragedy. 
It  reminded  him,  too,  that  it  was  morning,  ai^ 
tiiat  the  hour  of  his  ultimate  trial  had  arrived. 

•  He  swung  his  door  open,  and  looked  out  along 
th«  deck.  He  beheld  a  windless  aea,  and  • 


9HS  OAXIiTOB 


blood-red  tropical  sim  mounting  up  above  its 
rim,  where  dull  orange  paled  into  dark  azure. 
On  bU  lue  be  ooidd  fed  tbe  sea  air,  still  fresb 
and  balmy.  Tbere  seemed  something  Edoiio 
in  its  limpidity,  something  unearthly  in  its  over- 
exquisite  and  nnvolnptnons  softness.  It  seemed 
to  etherealise  life,  to  beantify  eve?^  the  tainted 
and  sordid  hulk  of  wood  and  steel  and  steam 
that  forged  ever  forward  across  its  universal 
eurve  of  azure  peace.  The  sea  itself  ,  as  he  stood 
there  watehboig  it,  aosmned  strange  and  qnieUy 
altering  tints.  Along  some  slight  wind-riffle  it 
became  daret-colonred  and  turquoise  and  violet 
The  lace-work  edge  of  some  wandering  current 
left  it  royal  with  floating  purple,  shot  through, 
in  spots,  with  flashing  ruby-red  that  held  all  the 
fire  of  a  thousand  dnnamon-gamets.  In  other 
places  some  miracle  of  refracted  light  made  the 
softly  undulatory  surface  a  bosom  of  breath- 
ing quicksilver.  Then  a  point's  shift  in  the 
sun*s  altitude  merged  and  darkened  the  silver 
into  the  pale  blue  of  forget-me-nots,  deepening 
it  still  again  into  dully  lustrous  maroon  and 
lapis-lazuli,  streaking  it  with  lilac  and  apple- 
green,  leaving  it  as  varied  and  mystic  as  the 
breast-plate  of  an  Hebraic  high-priest 

MeKinnon  took  a  deep  breath  of  that  soft  and 
bahny  air,  and  felt  that  life  was  still  beautiful. 
Be  felt  that  there  were  still  great  hopes  to  be 


266         THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 

thankful  for,  ^eat  hazards  to  be  gladly  faced, 
great  ends  to  be  attained. 

llieii  his  thoii|[^ts  came  down  to  more  msi* 
terial  things,  as  he  looked  about  and  behdd  a 
dirty-jaoketed  and  heavy-eyed  steward  carry- 
ing a  pewter  coffee-pot  and  a  tray  of  fruit  and 
toast  and  eggs  along  the  deck  to  the  captain's 
stateroom,  but  who  veered  about  to  the  wireless- 
room  door,  at  a  sign  from  McKinnon. 

'^Conldnt  yon  leave  that  with  met"  asked 
the  operator. 

'*It's  the  captdn's,"  said  the  steward,  mov- 
ing impassively  on. 

"Wait I"  said  McKinnon,  taking  a  bill  from 
his  pocket.  "Your  captain's  not  even  awake 
yet.  And  you  could  have  a  second  trayful  up 
to  him  in  ten  minutes." 

The  heavy-eyed  steward  willingly  enough 
surrendered  his  burden  when  McKinnon  thrust 
the  bank-note  into  his  hand,  and  went  shuffling 
below-stairs  again,  to  refdaoe  the  ooffee-pot  and 
replenish  the  tray. 

McKinnon  closed  and  locked  his  cabin  door, 
before  he  set  down  the  breakfast  thus  caught 
<m  the  wing.  When  he  looked  iq;>  he  saw  AHda 
Boyntoa  regarding  him  with  wide^q^  and 
vaguely  wondering  eyes.  He  felt  glad  that  he 
had  escaped  the  brutality  of  waking  her  to  the 
troubled  world  that  still  encompassed  them. 


\ 

\ 

THE  CALL  FOB  HELP  267 

"What  is  it!"  she  asked. 

"It*s  yoiir  breakfast,"  he  said,  with  studied 
eheeriiieBs.  "You're  going  to  eat  it  while  i 
start  to  send." 

' '  Then  yon  can  send  f "  she  asked.  Her  world 
of  reality  seemed  slow  in  coming  back  to  her. 

**IVe  got  to  go  to  the  engine-room  first," 
he  explained,  "to  see  about  my  power.** 

"What  must  I  do f"  she  asked. 

"Lock  this  door  when  I  go  out,  and  dont 
open  it;  dont  open  it  for  Captain  Tandel  him- 
self, until  you  hear  me  knock  three  times." 

She  had  made  her  hurried  toilet  by  the  time 
he  was  back,  but  the  coffee  and  eggs  remained 
untouched.  McKiunon,  at  the  still  open  door, 
could  »ee  that  the  brief  tropical  morning  had 
already  merged  into  open  day.  He  could  see, 
too,  that  they  had  drawn  closer  in  to  the  Locom- 
bian  coast.  Along  the  soutiiwest  lay  a  brokra 
blue  line  of  mountains,  remote  and  lonely-lo<*- 
ing.  They  seemed  to  him,  under  their  high- 
arching  sky  of  abysmal  blue,  like  some  forlorn 
and  ragged  ra:  part  of  a  world's  end.  Still 
Bearer  stretched  the  alluvial  plains  and  the  low, 
flat  line  of  swamp-land,  hrokm  here  and  there 
by  oinmps  of  pafans,  along  the  hi^^  spots 
where  the  ground-swell  of  the  emerald-tinted 
shallows  broke  in  Uinding  white  on  the  ooral 
beaches. 


268 


THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 


Between  the  toppling  peaks  of  the  CozdiSenui 

and  the  littoral  mangrove  swamps  hnng  a  crawl- 
ing and  miasmal  fog,  cnrling  and  feeling  its  way 
inward,  like  a  snake  trying  to  escape  the  heel 
of  the  hot  sun.  McKinnon*s  flesh  tingled  and 
crept  a  little  as  he  looked  on  it,  for  it  disquieted 
and  overawed  him,  that  land  of  crawling  mists 
and  hlazing  light  and  flaming  heat.  The  thonghft 
of  its  overcrowded  and  self-strangling  vegeta- 
tion, of  its  ceaseless  and  sinister  and  over- 
exuberant  life,  depressed  him.  He  was  glad 
enough  to  shut  and  lock  his  door  on  it  all. 

''Ton  havent  eatenf "  he  said,  as  his  eyo  fell 
on  the  nntondied  breakfast. 

**I  don't  think  I  could,"  she  protested. 

*  *  But  you  must  I"  he  declared ;  and  she  found, 
to  her  wonder,  that  his  note  of  authority  held 
something  vaguely  appealing  and  consoling  to 
her. 

«I  couldn't  until  I  knew  yon  were  sending 
again  I" 

He  thought  over  that  statement,  for  tiie  titsmr 
tion  had  its  di£Sculties. 

"Not  a  word,  not  a  dot,  goes  out  until  weVe 
had  our  breakfast,"  was  his  ultimatum.  He 
knew  that  sb'i  needed  nourishment.  He  also 
knew  that  it  would  he  unwise  to  bank  too 
strongly  on  bis  untested  apparatus.  And  be 
knew  that  defeat,  if  defeat  it  was,  would  be  a 


THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 


269 


enuhing  one.  80  lie  aie»  thoac^  it  wtm  mom 
to  encourage  her  th^n  to  appease  his  own 
hunger.  And  when  their  frugal  meal  was 
finished,  he  looked  at  his  watch  with  specula- 
tive and  half -closed  eyes.  Then  he  gave  a  deep 
sigh  and  turned  to  his  operating-table. 

'*Tbn»*B  up!"  was  aU  be  said. 

The  giri,  Bitting  on  the  berth-edge,  saw  bis 
hand  go  up  to  the  switch-board;  she  saw  the 
lever  come  down  on  the  contact-pins,  one  by 
one,  and  heard  the  hum  and  drone  of  the 
wakened  dynamo.  She  saw  his  rubber-muffled 
fingers  catch  up  the  piece  of  heavy  insulated 
copper  wire  wfaieh  bad  been  attadied  to  the  die- 
mantled  Un^ng-post,  and  the  flash  of  blue 
flame  that  exploded  from  knob  to  knob  across 
the  spark-gap  as  he  completed  his  circuit  by 
touching  his  wire-end  to  the  contact-point  of  his 
improvised  key.  She  saw  his  intently  inclined 
head  as  he  sat  listening  with  his  phones  pressed 
dose  over  bis  ears,  and  the  strong-sinewed  yet 
s^  oddly  boyisb-looking  beaded  witb 
minute  dtoipB  of  perspiration. 

His  preoccupied  left  hand  went  out  to  bis 
tuner,  and  still  he  sat  there,  over  his  recoji- 
structed  responder,  waiting.  The  only  sound  in 
the  cabin  was  the  continuous  whir  of  the  eleo- 
trie  fan  on  its  nnpamted  pine  shelf.  The 
aiiiHiles  dza^;^  siowl7  away.  She  sOfnee  be- 


270         THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 


oame  e  irve-tortnring,  piling  up  like  a  wave  that 
rinses  to  break  and  fall. 

*  *  It 's  nseless  I  * '  cried  the  girl. 

McKinnon  silenced  her  with  a  peremptory 
movement  of  fhe  hancL 

"Wait!''  he  commanded. 

He  leaned  forward,  slowly,  until  his  breast- 
bone pressed  against  the  edge  of  the  table. 
Then  came  a  moment  or  two  of  unbroken  quiet- 
ness. 

**rve  got  them!**  he  whispered. 
But  still  again  fhe  ralence  was  unbroken  as 
the  man  with  the  glimmering  steel  band  aeross 

his  head  sai;  crooked  up  like  a  schoolboy  over  a 
slate,  listening.  His  hand  went  out  to  the  lever- 
heads  in  the  numeral-lined  slots  of  his  tuning- 
box,  as  he  paused  to  tune  up  to  the  wave-pitch 
of  some  as  yet  ^  v^rherable  message.  His 
half-dosed  eyes  . ;  and  widened,  and  he 
was  .suddenly  sprk'  ..-uf  for  the  switch-handle 
of  his  starting-box  again. 

"I*ve  got  them,"  he  cried  exultantly,  as  ha 
turned  to  his  key.  **I*ve  got  two  of  themV* 

"Two  of  themt" 

"Yes;  they're  both  talking  at  once.  I've  got 
to  make  one  hold  back,  if  I  can  readi  hun.  If 
not,  I've  got  to  tnn»hiin  out!" 

His  voice  was  cut  off  by  the  familiar  spit  and 
fladi  of  the  huge  Une  spark,  and  a  thin  okhuo 


XHB  GALL  FOB  HELP  271 


odour  ffilad  doted  room,  ttnngdy  llkt  tlM 
wmXL  of  imnmer  air  after  a  thnnder-atorm.  The 
rapt  and  wistfiil  eyes  of  the  woman  watched 
h\in  as  he  worked,  touched  into  wonder  before 
the  inscrutable,  humbled  into  momentary  amaze- 
ment by  the  unfathomable  mystery  of  Hertzian 
waves. 

''Thank  OodI"  he  cried,  "it's  Onariquil" 

"Onariqni!"  echoed  the  woman. 

He  silenced  her  sharply,  for  he  had  his  ear  at 
his  phone  again,  and  was  once  more  working 
nervously  over  his  tuning-box. 

"We've  lost  them,"  he  murmured  dejectedly. 

''Are  you  suret"  she  whispered,  out  of  the 
tilmee  that  followed. 

"WeVe  lost  them  bofht"  he  almost  groaned. 
The  wMr  of  the  fan  and  the  breathing  of  the 
two  listeners  was  the  only  sound  in  the  cabin. 
The  quietness  again  seemed  like  an  up-piling 
breaker  that  refused  to  fall  and  retreat  The 
woman  stirred  uneasily. 

"Wait!"  cried  McKhmon,  with  soddenly  in- 
dined  head.  His  faoe^  now  seamed  with  nmnds 
of  sweat,  was  drawn  and  the  jaw  mnsdes  were 
set  and  knotted.  He  jerked  a  nervous  hand  to- 
ward the  droning  fan,  peevishly,  as  though  its 
presence  were  a  personal  affront  to  him. 

"Shut  off  that  fan,"  he  conmianded. 

T^'e  woman  rose  without  a  word  and  shot  it 


873        Sm  GALL  FOB  HELP 

dr.  11mwMftiiiii]idoiitHtltoipitd«lMM> 
baUioiii  enmnt,  a  spark  of  bine  under  the  ja- 
pfttwMMi  itandard,  and  the  revolving  brass  wheel- 
wings  came  to  a  stop.  Nothing  but  the  sound 

of  breathing  filled  the  cabin. 

*•  There  1"  McKinnon's  voice  empted  like  one 
of  his  own  coil-sparks  through  the  silfDM^ 

"Now  I've  got  theml" 
He  jnmped  for  his  key,  taOdng  om  bis  shoals 

der  as  he  did  so. 

"It*s  the  Guariqui  operator,"  he  explained, 
as  he  worked.  "  He 's  sending  very  weak ;  I  can 
hardly  get  him.  He  says  his  power's  giving  out, 
and  De  Brigard's  men  are  targeting  at  his 
aerials  with  cartnnes. 

Then  he  flnng  himself  into  his  chair,  and 
caught  np  his  form  pad  for  transcription,  with 
his  receiver  once  more  over  his  head.  He  wrote 
slowly,  with  intent  eyes  and  wrinkled  brow, 
word  after  word,  sometimes  going  back  and 
scratching  oat  a  phrase,  sometunes  pnzzled  by 
a  lost  dot  or  dash  in  the  stuttering  Morse,  some* 
times  qniokly  ''breaking"  and  asking  the  opera- 
tor to  repeat.  His  breath  came  shorter  and 
quicker  as  he  listened  and  wrote.  Then  he  called 
frenziedly,  and  listened,  and  called  again. 

"They're  dead  I"  he  exclaimed,  in  disgust. 

'<Dead1"  cried  the  woman,  in  white-lipped 
alarm. 


THE  CALL  FOB  HBLP  878 


''Imeanloan'tgetUitml  Their  wins  mntt 
be  ^onel" 

His  net  of  tiie  word  **dMd"  etiU  terrified  the 
woman  at  his  ddo.  Ho  had  no  I&dm  to  «(q>]aiB. 
He  simply  thmst  his  inscribed  pad  sheets  into 
her  hand  as  he  tamed  to  his  key  again,  for 
now  was  precionsy  terribly  prodoiis. 

She  read: 

DvTMi's  men  all  her*.  Shut  ap  in  eitjr  walttif  ourtridge 
■hipment  Ught  akirmlaliei  lut  two  dajm.  UllM  Mi 
De  Brtgard  beck  aU  yeiterdey,  but  bad  to  fall  back  on 
tftr  at  tttttat  Short  of  ammunition.  ...  Wo  are  ahnt 
te^  ^De  Brlgard'a  forces  surrounded  eltr  at  tefkiwdL 
Omrler  reports  rebels  bringing  machine  guns  up  through 
km^  from  SaalbsUa.  We  must  have  help  before  guns  Join 
bombardment  Carbines  are  picking  at  my  aerials  frosi 
Puaiso  HUU  to  tho  sast  Can  yon  get  Chi:<an  battle- 
^P  two  dajrs  oa  Paorto  Locombia  or  British  ship  out  of 
KlngstdB?  Must  have  help.  Rehgr  eall  to  anythlag  la 
reach.  .  .  .  Dnraa's  anthwltgr.  .  .  .  Or  if  Chilean  or 
BritMi  marines  eaa  bt  InM  In  time  advise  them  to  push 
in  by  way  of  Boraoa*.  Amenoan  Consul  Klauser  shut  r.p 
there  holding  wlr*li«  with  KUvert^  United  Fruit  operst. 
but  report  bad  isadlns.  ...  It  «•)  «|safseted  town 
outside  eapitaL  .  .  .  mmm  «pm  .  .  .  Mnat 
hurry.  .  .  . 

Her  hungry  eyes  mshed  back  *md  foi ,  i  along 
the  second  sheet  wMch  MoKi  n  had  thmst 
into  her  hand: 

Oaa  get  PrinottOH,  ...  Sane  eat  ^mb  Ood**  conn- 
try.  .  .  .  Must  harry.  Tes,  president  nd  cabinet  safe. 
SeTen  hundred  crowded  In  Palace  yards  at  wator  ahui  off. 
Tell  Princeton  not  to  wait  to  laad  gona.  Bi  imkn  Bnracao 
nritek  bridge  i»  ataed.  .  .  .  B^et  ^^BMK  ^mt^^k. 


374        THE  GALL  FOB  HILP 

board.  .  .  .  G«t  bm  louUi  of  Boitoa  ogatii  liuiii  lit 

Tluit  WM  tiM  end  of  tbt  messagt. 

**Bat  the  Princetonr*  gasped  th*  wonuL  "If 
joa  ean't  get  the  Princetonr* 

"Wait— waiWI'm  getting  her,"  answered 
the  man,  bent  low  over  his  resp  >nder,  as  thoagh 
the  sense  it  appealed  to  were  vision  and  not 
sight.  «TheyVe  been  waiting  for  mo  to  relaj. 
They've  been  ** 

He  left  the  speech  nnended,  for  he  was  bnsy 
sending  his  spark  cannonading  across  its  gap. 

He  kept  up  that  cannonading  nntil  it  seemed 
to  the  watching  woman  that  it  was  never  going 
to  end.  Then  he  switched  off  and  listened  again, 
and  again  cannona^ted  his  answer. 

Then  he  dropped  wearily  into  his  chair,  wiped 
he  was  not  alone.  He  looked  up  at  the  woman 
with  a  strangely  transiSgaring  smile  on  his 
Bweat-stained  face. 

"It's  over,"  he  said,  with  the  simplidty  of 
ntter  weariness. 
"You»ve  got  them— tlw  PrmeeUmV*  she 

asked. 
«I*ve  got  than!" 

She  pot  ont  her  two  hands  to  him.  It  was 
meant  as  an  impersonal  gesture  of  gratitude, 
and  he  knew  it  as  he  took  them  in  his.  But  there 
seemed  something  revivifying  and  electrical  in 


THE  CALL  FOB  HELP 


275 


the  sweat  from  his  ftM,  and  remembered  that 
mere  contact  with  them,  Romething  that  brought 
the  hope  and  joy  of  life  back  to  hit  tired  body. 
He  laugh^  aloud. 

"I  gave  them  what  they  were  aching  fori 
They  were  lying  there  iteaming  and  baking  and 
fretti  r  .  fnr  the  very  one  word  I  Mnt  oa  to 
fheri. 

*"i   a  they'll  comet** 

"Come!  Yes,  they'll  come!  They've  been 
lying  there  whimpering  to  get  np  at  De  Brigard, 
joft  like  a  rat-terrier  whimpering  tc  get  at  a 
kittoL" 

He  was  sikat  for  a  moment,  as  his  mind 

tnred  the  sndden  change,  so  many  miles  away, 
th^t  was  flashing  and  thrilling  through  all  the 
great  gray  hulk  of  that  wakened  battle-ship,  of 
the  signal-bells  clanging,  the  orders  being  given, 
the  furnaces  being  stoked,  the  decks  being 
deared. 

'*Aiid  before  to-morrow  ni^t  fh^  will  be 
anchored  at  Pn«rto  Loeombia.*' 
"Before  to-morrow  nli^tt"  the  repettodt 

with  sinking  heart. 

"She  has  to  steam  all  the  way  from  Torre- 
blanca — she  can't  cover  the  distance  in  less  th.  u 
thirty  hours  imder  any  oircnmstances." 

"Bat  we  wm  be  at  Piiarto  Loccmil^  to-day, 
boforenli^aUl" 


276        *PW18  OAIi;  FOB  HELP 

"I  know  it,"  lie  said,  with  all  the  joy  and 
confidence  trailing  out  of  his  voice. 

"Then  Ganley  will  have  one  whole  day  to 
act  The  Sanibella  gons  win  be  pushed  up  to 
Onariqm.  Ulloa's  men  will  be  without  amnm- 
nition." 

"They  can  hold  out  I"  he  answered  her. 

"But  they  may  not,"  she  cried.  "It  may  all 
be  over  and  done  before  we  can  help  them.  And 
we  will  be  here  at  the  mercy  of  Genley !" 

She  failed  to  impart  any  ahred  of  her  terror 
to  the  listening  operator. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  with  abstracted  and  studious 
eyes,  "that  is  the  one  thing  that  worries  me." 

"But  Ganley  can  do  anything,  once  we're  at 
Puerto  Locombia.  This  ship  and  everything  it 
carries  will  be  under  his  thumb  I" 

"Yes,  that  is  still  our  problemr-weVe  still 
got  that  bridge  to  cross,"  he  confessed.  "Yet 
I  think  we  can  cross  it,  when  the  time  comes." 

"But  how?"  she  demanded. 

"By  not  having  this  ship  remain  at  Puerto 
Locombia,  once  Ganley *s  put  ashore,"  was  his 
answer. 

"Then  in  what  way  could  we  still  hdp 
Guariqui— in  timet"  was  her  forlorn  and  he^ 
less  query. 

"WeVe  got  to  make  a  way!"  he  told  her, 
with  his  grim  yet  reassuring  smile. 


CHAPTEEXX7 

SBB  TBUKF  OAID 

It  was  eight  hours  later  that  the  Laminian 
made  her  way  under  half-speed  into  the  road- 
•tead  at  Paerto  Locombia. 

She  drifted  guardedly  in  ovtw  shoals  of  trans- 
lucent yerdaiu^,  with  htr  serew  olnimiiig  fb» 
lettace-green  wsten  into  eoOiiig  and  oopp^as- 
tinted  eddies. 

A  long  iron  pier  ran  out  into  this  green- 
watered  roadstead,  its  trestles  spanned  by  the 
single  track  of  a  narrow-gauge  railway.  On 
either  aide  of  the  concrete  breakwater  that 
Hwwd  the  sea-edge  of  the  town  itself  stretched 
away  two  curves  of  white  sand  witti  their  in- 
termittently whitening  surf.  Then  came  scat- 
tering clumps  of  lonely  pahns,  then  a  lower 
mist-hung  coast  of  ooze  and  mangrove  and 
steaming  lagoon. 

Beldnd  tiie  oonereted  orescent  of  shore-line, 
to  tiie  roadstead  seemed  like  an  ar- 
row  aet  in  ft  drawn  bow,  stood  inegolar  linat 

m 


278  THE  TBUMP  CABD 


of  thatched  huts,  of  mud  and  bamboo  wattle, 
crowding  on  narrow  streets  that  sloped  to  the 
centre  and  held  sidewalks  no  wider  than  a  wall- 
top.  Still  nearer  ranged  the  more  substantial 
part  of  the  town,  the  bald,  sun-scorched  build- 
ings of  corrugated  iron  and  tin,  the  one-story, 
open-front  shops,  with  red  tile  roofs,  the  unin- 
viting rectangular  bodegas  and  the  austere 
and  gloomy  government  buildings.  Over  the 
latter  drooped  strange  flags  of  yellow  and  red 
and  blue. 

On  the  higher  ground  to  the  right  ran  rusty 
streets  lined  with  pink  and  yellow-tinted  house 
walls  of  stnoeo,  with  heavy  Spanish  shutters 
and  terra-cotta  roof-tiles.  Along  the  fringe  of 
lower  ground  to  the  extreme  left  stood  irregular 
rows  of  wattled  huts,  raised  the  height  of  a  man 
from  the  "sand-jiggers"  and  the  miasmal  tun- 
dra under  them,  looking  like  lines  of  patient 
herons  as  they  balanced  on  their  rotting  palm- 
wood  stUts. 

Beyond  the  town,  leading  into  the  slowly  ris- 
ing ground  of  ':he  southwest,  wound  a  road  of 
shell  and  limestone,  leaving  a  crooked  scar  of 
white  against  the  blackness  of  the  lowlands 
through  which  it  crept.  Close  in  by  the  concrete 
breakwater  lay  the  ribs  and  spars  of  a  wrecked 
schooner,  mysteriously  adding  to  tiie  atmos- 
phere of  s^oom  and  neglect  On  a  slcto-tnek 


THE  TBUICP  CARD  279 


curving  from  the  pier-end  stood  a  dismantled 
train  of  cars,  so  small  that  they  looked  like  a 
ohild'8  toys.  Near-by  lay  a  derailed  locomotive, 
brown  with  rnst,  strangely  pathetic  in  its  atti- 
tude of  resigned  helplessness.  Thirty  paooB 
from  this  stood  the  tottering  remains  of  a  corm- 
gated-iron  warehonse,  its  fallen  roof  and  twisted 
wall-plates  showing  plainly  enough  that  it  had 
been  blown  np  by  either  Ulloa  or  the  insurgents. 

Farther  out  along  the  broken  pier  rolled  and 
creaked  a  soft-coal-bnming  tog.  About  her 
sin^e  deck,  under  her  ov«rlarge  and  drooping 
ensign  of  red  and  yellow  and  blue,  lounged  and 
waited  a  number  of  figures  in  red-striped  uni- 
forms. Obsolete  brass  cannon  shimmered  at  her 
bow  and  stem,  and  a  carbine-rack  showed  out 
just  aft  of  her  wheel-house. 

It  was  while  this  straigely  accoutred  tug 
east  off  and  came  puffing  and  iidieeling  about  to 
meet  the  newcomer  into  the  roadstead  that  Mo- 
Kinnon  and  Alicia  Boynton  stood  at  the  rail, 
gazing  landward.  Nothing  seemed  left  for  them 
now  but  to  watch  and  wait.  Everything  that  lay 
in  their  power  had  been  done;  all  they  could  do 
now  was  to  study  the  cards  as  Fate  threw  them 
on  tba  board. 

*<That's  one  of  De  Briga^fd's  gunboftlsl''  said 
the  watching  and  anxious-eyed  girl. 

''So  tiioae  are  the  tools  that  Gkmley  works 


280  THE  TRUMP  OABD 


with!**  spid  the  operator,  looking  with  open 
scorn  at  the  strange  tng,  the  strange  ensigii,  tt» 
still  stranger  figures  in  TOiiform.  He  tried  to 
hide  his  anxiety  and  depression  nnder  a  light- 
ness of  tone  that  seemed  as  incongmons,  even 
to  his  own  ears,  as  the  tricolonred  ensign  flap- 
ping over  the  soft-coal-hurning  craft  before 
them. 

"Those  are  the  tools  that  can  eat  deep,  when 
they  have  to,"  was  the  woman's  answer,  as  she 
<mce  more  looked  landward. 

"They're  burning  Parroto!"  cried  some  one 
from  a  lower  deck,  in  plaintive  wonder.  "That's 
Parroto  going  up  in  smoke  there!" 

McKinnon,  nnder  the  rocking  awning  that 
could  not  altogether  shut  out  the  hot  snn  of  th« 
late  afternoon,  leaned  f arth^  over  the  rail  and 
peered  inland. 

Far  to  the  sonth  and  west  stretched  the  flat 
and  gloomy  swamps,  steaming  under  the  sun's 
rays,  mephitic  and  menacing.  Still  farther 
away,  tier  by  tier,  rose  the  hills,  with  a  coudor 
wheeling  above  them  here  and  there. 

They  lifted,  in  gentle  waves  soft^ed  with  tJ» 
green  of  orange  and  banana  and  oocoannt-imfan, 
of  bamboo  and  breadfruit,  until  they  crowded 
mistily  up  to  the  huddled  blue  line  of  the  moun- 
tain-ridges, to  the  very  peaks  cf  the  Cordilleras, 
lonely,  forbidding,  and 'seemingly  impenetrable. 


THE  TBI7HP  CABD  281 


From  cm  ot  ibiB  nearer  tiers  of  liSls  Uafik 
eofaimns  of  smoke  twined  and  eorled  and  Idl- 
lowed  up  into  the  air.  It  was  the  town  of  Pap- 

roto,  still  in  flames. 

Bnt  no  somid  or  sign  of  movement  came  from 
shr-e.  A  mysterious  and  drug-like  si  jep  seemed 
to  envelop  both  town  and  swamp  and  hills.  Yet 
McKinnon,  watching  with  set  and  thoughtful 
lace,  knew  that  somewhere  in  the  dust-laden 
streets  between  the  stucco  walls  senoritas  were 
peering  from  jalousies,  and  naked  children  were 
playing  and  lean  cars  were  prowling.  In  the 
yellow  ofanrdi  facing  the  Prado  priests  were 
moring  about.  In  the  sbsdowy  bodegas  flies 
were  buzzing  and  glasses  were  clinking,  and 
swarthy  and  undersized  patriots  were  rolling 
cigarettes  and  enlarging  on  the  true  paths  that 
led  to  liberty.  In  each  tesselated  patio  shad- 
owed by  mstling  palm-fronds,  were  women  and 
old  men,  and  beside  the  mnd  oven  of  eadi  wat- 
tled hut  meals  were  being  made  r^Kly  and  eaten. 
It  took  him  back  to  the  past,  pamfully,  to  t]» 
past  that  he  would  much  rather  have  forgotten. 

"Doc  '  look  like  hornet"  he  asked  the  giri 
at  his  Sivw,  a  little  absently,  a  little  bitterly. 

She  was  silent  for  another  minute  or  two,  as 
her  eyes  tamed  throng^  the  broken  line  of  the 
OordOlaras  to  whexe  Ooariqai  lay,  to^rt  M 


282  THE  TEUMP  CARD 

waited  the  life  for  which  she  had  foni^t  and 

risked  so  much. 

"It  will  never  seem  home  to  me  agam,  slie 
answered. 
"But  it  was  your  home  once!" 
"Yes,  I  used  to  think  it  was  almost  beautiful. 
The  movement  and  colour  and  mystery  of  it  I 
The  fiesias,  and  the  music,  the  glitter  and  pomp 
of  its  little  court  life  that  so  satisfied  my  foolish 
vanity,  the  riding  and  the  freedom,  the  passion 
and  warmth  of  everything!  You  may  not  beUeve 
me,  or  understand  me  when  I  say  it,  hut  I  caa 
remember  when  it  used  to  make  me  ahuoat 
drunk,  espedally  at  nightl" 

He  felt  vaguely  envious  of  those  earlier  and 
happier  days;  he  felt  that  he  had  been  cheated 
out  of  something.  But  her  eyes,  through  all 
their  moumfulness,  glowed  like  a  tropical  sea 
touched  with  moonlight,  as  she  smiled  up  at 
him;  and  he  forgot  the  feeling. 

"It  was  beautiful  to  me—then,"  she  con- 
fessed. "But  tiie  beauty  was  there,  I  think,  be- 
cause I  put  it  there." 

To  the  eyes  of  the  tired  and  anxious  man  at 
her  side  it  seemed  anything  but  beautiful.  It 
seemed  a  land  of  unbroken  silence,  of  sullen 
mystery,  of  primordial  shadow  and  gloom,  from 
the  white  lip  of  the  beach  that  sucked  so  fever- 
ishly at  the  pale  oopper-gtem  <d  the  tea-watw 


THE  TBUMP  OABD  283 


to  the  misty  line  of  its  farthest  moimtain-tops. 
And  he  wondered  if  it  was  to  be  allowed  him 
ever  to  reach  tiiose  mountains,  and  what  would 
await  him  there.  He  wondered,  with  such  odds 
against  him,  if  the  hour  for  activity  would  bring 
with  it  an  boniest  fighting-chance. 

He  tnmed  his  anxious  eyes  to  the  tug  swing- 
ing authoritatively  in  under  the  Laminim's 
quarter.  He  knew  only  too  weU,  from  the  gas- 
oonading  attitudes  of  its  mdformed  oiBeials, 
from  the  sheer  effrontery  witk  which  they 
swung  in  and  overhauled  the  bigger  steamship, 
that  he  was  at  last  beholding  the  local  ^dtru- 
ments  of  the  new  "Liberal"  dictatorship.  And 
he  knew  that  with  their  advent  the  curtain  was 
about  to  rise  on  a  new  act  of  tiie  tangled  drama. 
He  racked  his  brain  to  understand  what  6an- 
ley's  move  would  be.  He  knew  that  aU  day  long 
the  gun-runner  had  kept  to  his  cabin.  A  stew- 
ard had  reported  that  his  head  was  bad  and 
causing  him  much  pain.  He  had  eaten  nothing; 
he  had  kept  his  berth,  cursing  the  Laminian  and 
the  heat  of  her  ccflfinlike  cabins  and,  above  all, 
her  sottish  and  pigheaded  captain. 

Yet  MeKlnnon  knew  it  would  take  more  than 
a  sore  head  to  keep  €kinley  from  acting  wli«i 
the  moment  for  action  arrived.  The  one  thing 
that  puzzled  the  operator  was  what  fonn  that 
first  move  of  Qanley's  was  to  take. 


284  THE  TBUMP  CABD 


Some  hint  as  to  the  solution  of  that  problem 
came  even  as  he  stood  there  at  the  ship's  rail, 
watching.  It  came  in  the  form  of  a  shoe,  flnng 
from  an  open  port-hole  of  the  Laminian  to  th« 
deck  of  the  indrawing  tug.  This  shoe--it  wM 
ft  ludicrous,  wid^'-toed,  well-worn  thing  of 
hmnble  calfskin— was  picked  np  by  the  epan- 
letted  officar  of  the  local  comandante,  looked  at 
with  open  disgust,  and  flung  openly  overboard. 
But  McKinnon  noticed  that  before  this  took 
place,  the  oflScer  in  question  had  extracted  from 
its  wide-toed  interior  a  slip  of  closely  folded 
paper.  He  promptly  disappeared  from  sight,  in 
the  wheel-house,  and  when  he  reappeared,  his 
tug  was  grating  and  bumping  along  ihe  La- 
mininan's  side-plates,  heedless  of  the  blasphe- 
mous and  stentorian  imprecations  of  Captain 
Yandel,  bellowing  and  gesticulating  from  his 
bridge-end. 

McKinnon  himself  ndther  heard  nor  notioea 
any  of  this.  He  was  too  busily  engaged  in  watdi- 
ing  the  port-hole,  from  which  the  shoe  had  ap- 
peared. He  saw  a  boat-hook  swung  carelessly 
up  to  it,  a  red  hand  reach  out  and  lift  something 
from  the  end  of  it,  and  the  boat-hook  continue 
to  scratch  along  the  ship's  side-plates  as  tSiOQ^ 
searching  for  a  hold.  Then  the  tug  made  fast. 

Two  minutes  later  a  coffee-coloured  official 
wearing  eanihj  boots,  red-striped,  Wne  d«aia 


THE  TBUHP  OABD  385. 


trousers,  a  yellow-faced  white  jacket  and  a  gold- 
braided  cap,  came  aboard.  He  carried  a  sword, 
held  at  hii  side  by  a  red  eath,  and  was  followed 
by  an  alert-eyed,  narrow-ahonldered,,  yellow- 
fiieed  yonth  in  bine  denim  striped  with  red. 

The  officer  with  the  sword  brought  his  heels 
together  and  saluted  Captain  Yandel.  That 
worthy  seaman,  descending  from  his  bridge,  de- 
manded to  know,  in  English,  why  he  was  io 
damned  slow  about  getting  pratique,  and  what 
all  the  damned  fnae  wai  abont 

Before  any  reply  was  proffered  to  tiiese  ftOr 
patient  queries,  Ganley  himself  appeared  from 
below  deck.  A  crooked  smile  rested  on  his 
bruised  and  swollen  face,  a  smile  that  seemed 
more  sinister  than  the  light  in  his  baleful  and 
blood-shot  little  eyes. 

«Ck»tte  In  o£P  the  deokt"  he  commanded,  with 
the  calmness  of  unquestioned  authority. 

That  was  all  that  McKinnon  heard,  for  the  ' 
talk  was  resumed  in  the  captain's  stateroom, 
with  thunderous  volleys  of  broken  Spanish  on 
the  one  side,  with  calm  and  dictatorial  insolence 
on  the  other.  It  was  to  this  talk  that  Alida, 
as  she  leaned  over  the  ship's  rail,  listmed  so  at- 
tentively. 

"What  is  itf "  asked  MeEinnon,  noticing  her 
wide  and  terrified  eyes. 
"We  are  in  quarantine^"  she  answered. 


M  THE  TBUMP  GABD 


qnamtiiieT" 
"Do  ibgy  say  whyT" 

"The  eowumdamie  has  ordered  ns  to  be  held 
here.  They  are  sending  a  detachment  of  sol- 
diers to  watdh  the  ship.  We  are  to  be  kept  here, 
prisoners." 

*  *  But  there 's  no  fever !  *  * 

"No;of  oomsenotl  It'stheoldtridLl  Th^ 
daren't  outrage  our  flag  openly—ire  are  an 
American  ship  I  They  daren't  insult  our  colours 
by  open  capture.  But  they  draw  what  they  call 
a  dead  line,  and  they  shoot  down  everyone  who 
crosses  it!" 

"So  that's  how  they  intend  to  hold  ust" 

"Yes— I  heard  Ganley  say,  in  Spanish,  that 
he*d  keep  up  here  until  he  finished  his  game.  He 
tdd  Captain  Yandel  that  he  was  gt^ig  to  tie 
him  up  here  until  his  anchor-flukes  were  b«p- 
nacled." 

"But  what's  their  excuse  for  this?"  he  asked, 
with  absent  and  preoccupied  eyes,  for  his  busy 
brain  was  already  reconnoitring  into  the 
menacing  future. 

"He  claims  that  it's  yellow  fever— that  we've 
entered  the  affected  zone." 

"So  that  was  his  trump  card,  after  alll"  said 
tiie  meditative  McKinnon. 

"It's  the  card  that  makes  us  lose,"  was  the 


TBS  fBUlIF  CiBb  iSf 

girl's  hopdeis  rejoinder.  "We  must  stay  here 
prisoners,  as  muoh  prisoners  as  thongli  we  were 
oooped  in  •  quarfel,  for  a  iHiole  day  and  a 
^ideni^t  We  an  here,  wona  Umii  helpless, 

nntil  the  Princeton  comes!" 

She  came  to  a  stop,  and  shuddered  a  little. 

"Oh,  believe  me,"  she  told  him,  in  her  tengf^ 
and  low-toned  voice,  "believe  me,  I  am  not 

coward!  But  anything,  an^ 

thing,  can  happen  on  this  ship  to-night!" 

Tha  intantness  with  whidi  ha  was  atodyinr 
her  face  brought  her  wonderiiif  fyea  iq>  to  Mi. 

"I'm  afraid  youVe  got  to  be  mj  Imiye,"  W 
said,  as  gently  as  he  could. 

"Yes  I  know,"  she  said,  a 

little  brokenly. 

"Bat  braver  in  a  different  way,"  he  amendeo. 

"Whyf "  die  aaked. 

"Because  yon  and  I  are  going  to  brei^ 
quarantine  to-nighM" 

She  looked  from  him  to  the  smokv  Imnns 
that  hung  over  Parroto,  and  then  bacK  at  the 
carbine-rack  and  the  brass  guns  of  the  coman- 
dante'a  smoke-belching  ship-of-war. 

"We  oan%"  she  said,  with  a  Uttle  gasp  of 
deQMdr.  "We  would  have  no  ehanee.  There  la 
no  place  to  go  to— and  they  will  have  orders  to 
shoot.  It  would  be  giving  them  the  diaaee  they 
are  waiting  for.  We  can't  go  1" 


m  THE  TBUMP  CABD 

«WeVe  got  tot"  MoEinnon  laid,  doggedly. 

"But  where  could  we  got  Where  could  we 
find  safety!"  she  demanded,  as  her  hopeless  and 
unhappy  eyes  swept  the  inhospitable  country 
that  confronted  them.  In  all  that  country,  ike 
knew,  there  was  not  »  hamlet  or  town,  not  a 
Taii«y  or  jungle,  that  eould  offer  them  safety. 
There  was  not  a  square  mile  of  it,  outside  the 
beleaguered  walls  of  Gnariqui  itself,  that  would 
offer  them  harbour. 

**  We're  going  to  Guariqui  to-night^ou  and 
IV  said  McKinnon,  meeting  her  woDderiaf 
gaie  with  hit  dear  and  tteAdftit  e^ 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


iAxjou  Stood  on  f[v<'*  ..  thedoorof  thowiro- 
lOM  room,  waiting  ..icKiiiiion 's  return.  Moro 
and  more,  in  those  t  strange  hours  of  uncer- 
tainty, she  dreaded  being  alone.  There  seemed 
something  ominous  and  bodeful  in  the  very 
quietBMt  of  the  mysii^i  ihip,  as  she  rocked 
•iMl  grated  agaimt  the  pier  in  the  long  and  Md- 
loi  ground-swell  of  the  roadstead.  TIm  tenm 
no  longer  throbbed,  the  engines  no  longer  pulsed 
and  churned.  The  quietness  seemed  deathlike. 
It  was  broken  only  by  the  steps  of  De  Brigard's 
sentries,  as  they  sleepily  paced  the  long  deck, 
one  to  port  and  one  to  starboard.  Tet  even 
^ese  two  iigores,  with  their  shooldeied  ear- 
bines,  seemed  ghfMitlike^  presaging  vague  evils. 
The  heat,  too,  was  oppressive,  for  not  a  breath 
of  air  seemed  to  stir  in  the  quiet  ship.  But  in- 
comparably more  oppressive  was  the  silence  so 
rhytimiically  hrok^z  by  the  spectral  tread  of  the 
pacing  sentrieii.  Tbkjij  tf-.?.  infinitely  minute 


290  THE  DEAD-LINE 

sound  of  another  mov«n€mt  erept  in  to  li«r 
strainkifl:  ears.  She  took  up  the  heavy  revolver 
as  McEinnon  had  warned  her  to  do,  and 
crouched  hack  into  the  remotest  comer  of  the 
oahin,  listening  and  waiting. 

The  girl's  heart  stood  still  as  McKinnon  him- 
self quietly  swung  back  the  cabin  door,  dodged 
inside,  and  as  quickly  closed  and  locked  the  door 
behind  hmu  He  stood  there  with  his  back  to 
her,  listening,  without  so  much  as  a  glance  in  her 
direction.  He  heard  the  pacing  steps  pass  and 
die  away,  and  pass  still  again.  Then  he  mur- 
mured a  grateful  * '  Thank  Heaven  I ' '  took  a  deep 
breath,  and  turned  slowly  about  to  the  waiting 
girl.  His  gaze  was  impersonal  and  abstracted; 
he  scarcely  seemed  oonsdons  of  her  presence  as 
he  stood  there,  deep  in  troubled  thoui^t. 

**Wellt''  she  whispered  at  last,  strogs^ing  to 
keep  some  tremour  of  dread  from  her  voice. 

"I  was  right,'*  he  said,  with  the  look  of  per- 
plexity still  in  his  studious  eyes.  ' '  Eighty-eight 
boxes  of  fluxing-slag  have  been  passed  out  from 
the  hold  and  piled  along  the  pier.  They  've  been 
standing  there  covered  with  a  tarpaulin." 
**1m  any  one  theref"  she  asked. 
' '  Five  of  De  Brigard's  men — four  men  and  an 
officer.  The  four  men  are  moving  those  boxes 
now.  They  are  lifting  them  in  through  the  east 
door  of  the  weigh-scales  shed.  The  south  door 


THE  DEAB-LINB  S91 


has  been  kept  shut;  and  the  United  Fruit  Con- 
cern's track-motor  has  been  kept  there  waiting. 
They  have  divided  the  eighty-eight  boxes  into 
two  lots.  They  intend  to  take  out  only  one-half 
of  the  shipment  to-night.  I  counted  the  boxes 
from  under  the  life-boat.  Forty-three  were  left ; 
that  means  they  are  taking  off  forty-five." 

"That  means  almost  three  hundred  thousand 
rounds  of  ammunition  I*'  she  exclaimed,  with  a 
little  hopeless  gesture  of  the  hands. 

"The  Bemington  rifles,  of  course,  they  can't 
touch.  The  forty-five  boxes,  I  imagine,  have  eam- 
pletely  loaded  the  body  of  their  car,  fiUed  it 
up!" 

"But  what  are  we  to  do?" 

He  looked  at  her,  and  laughed  a  litCe,  reck- 
lessly. 

"They  have  to  run  those  boxes  of  slag  out 
through  Puerto  Locombia  to  De  Brigard's  head- 
quarters to-night.  They  have  to  get  them  out 
there  quietly,  very  quietly.  The  track,  doubt- 
less, has  been  cleared  for  them.  It  has  to  be 
cleared  for  them,  for  even  an  eighty-horse- 
power motor  can't  side-track  an  ore-train  or 
switch  a  string  of  banana-cars.  And  there  is  no 
Icmger  any  telegraph  between  this  port  and  the 
mland  points  they  have  to  pass.'' 

"No,  there  is  no  telegraiA,»»  she  said,  stiU 
at  sea. 


« 


292  a?HE  DEAD-LINB 

"There  are  four  men  and  an  officer,"  h,e 
mnsed  irrelevantly.  Then  he  looked  down  at  his 
watch,  and  turned  abruptly  to  the  girl  again. 

"You  have  a  revolver!**  he  asked.  She 
showed  him  the  weapon.  He  looked  it  over,  saw 
that  it  was  fnUy  loaded,  and  handed  it  back  to 
her. 

"Have  you  ever  learned  to  use  it?**  he  asked. 
She  looked  at  him  with  growing  wonder. 

"I  don't  think  I  could  kill  a  man,*'  she  said, 
very  quietly  and  very  slowly. 

"But  could  you  protect  /ourself,  at  a  pineht 
Conld  yon  shoot  rmmd  a  HtUe  with  it,  I  meant*' 

"I  have  learned  to  shoot,"  she  said,  white- 
lipped. 

"Good;  then  that  makes  three!**  he  ex- 
claimed. Her  wide  eyes,  following  him  as  he 
crossed  to  his  trunk  and  opened  it,  detected  the 
fact  that,  for  all  his  assumption  of  jocularity, 
his  hand  was  shaking  a  little  as  he  held  Gan- 
ley*s  huge  revolver  and  his  own  under  the  eleo> 
trie  light.  He  first  saw  that  these  two  revolvers 
were  fully  loaded.  Then  he  overturned  a  green 
cardboard  box  and  counted  his  cartridges. 
There  were  one  hundred  and  eighty-three,  all 
told. 

"What  must  I  dot"  she  asked,  as  bravely  at 
she  could,  taking  the  handfol  of  carfcridget  ha 
had  doled  out  for  her. 


THE  DEAD-LINB  201 


He  stood  once  more  stndyiog  her  with  his  im- 
personal and  abstracted  eyes. 

"Could  you  run  a  motor,  a  track-motor  like 
this?"  he  asked,  with  a  side-jerk  of  his  head 
toward  the  pier. 

*'I  have  run  one,  often,"  was  her  quiet 
wiswer.  "There  is  no  steering-wheel.  It  is 
simply  a  starting  and  speed-lever  and  the  brakfes 
—though  we  always  took  a  boy,  to  blow,  to  keep 
the  tracks  dear!'* 

"The  boy  will  not  be  needed,  to-night,"  was 
Ms  grim  rejoinder,  as  he  once  more  studied  his 
watch.  She  drew  back  fnmi  him,  slowly,  step  by 
step,  agiiast. 

"You  are  not  going  to  try  to  take  that  motor 
from  them?"  she  asked. 

"  We've  got  to  take  that  motor.  It's  our  only 
way  out.  And  with  your  help  I  can  do  it." 

"But  these  sentries  I  And  there  are  five  men  I 
And  forty-«ght  miles  of  country  held  by  De 
Brigardl"  ^ 

"Listen,"  he  said,  so  simply,  so  matter-of- 
fact  in  the  facing  of  the  problem,  that  his  very 
quietness  brought  her  stampeding  thoughts 
back  to  her.  "There  are  just  two  danger-zones. 
The  first  is  in  the  weigh-scales  shed,  where 
those  five  men  will  be.  The  second  will  be  in 
De  Brigard's  lines." 


294  THE  DEAD-LINE 


**Tet,"  she  said,  doing  her  best  to  meet  his 
mood  of  oalm-eyed  practicaHty. 

"The  officer  will  be  the  only  man  armed,  of 
those  five.  I'll  attend  to  him.  Before  the  other 
four  can  get  to  their  carbines  we'll  be  off— 
you'll  be  off,  I  mean,  for  remember,  whatever 
happens,  you  are  to  get  to  that  starting-lever 
and  get  away  with  the  car.  I'll  be  holding  the 
men  off  until  we're  dear.'* 

"Clear  of  what!" 

"Clear  of  that  shed— and  of  the  wharf. 
Then,  once  oat  of  the  town,  we've  got  a  dear 
nm  nntil  we  strike  De  Bngaxd'u  outposts.  It 
will  be  sunply  a  matter  of  roshing  them— and 
trosting  to  Indc" 

"It's  hopdess,*'  she  sobbed. 

"To  stay  six  more  hours  on  this  steamer  is 
more  hopeless!" 

"Even  if  we  did  get  through,"  she  tried  to 
explain,  "we  couldn't  get  into  GuariqnL  They 
would  fire  on  a  car  breaking  into  thdr  linoi— 
they  woold  kill  ns  boOi,  before  Hiey  ooold  under- 
stand!" 

He  shook  his  head  dissentingly. 

"We'll  have  to  warn  them  in  some  way 

 that  is  only  one  of  the  smaller 

problems!" 

He  caught  up  his  coat,  and  drapged  a  rvnAnx 


THE  DEAD-LINE  295 

iato  eaoli  aide  pooket,  and  after  than  the  loose 
cartridges,  in  hasdfiils. 

Then,  after  another  moment'a  fhoni^  hi 
crossed  the  cabin  again,  and  leaned  oyer  the 

open  ironk. 

"IVe  got  a  pocketful  of  milk  tablets  here," 
he  explained,  "and  a  ponnd  or  two  of  German 
army  chocolate." 

He  swung  abont  and  looked  at  her,  with  his 
almost  boyish  smile. 

"And  I'm  terribly  sorry,  bnt  it  isnt  sweet- 
ened  I"  he  said.  Although  there  was  no  answer- 
ing smile  on  her  face,  he  thought  he  saw  a  fleet- 
ing look  of  gratitude  in  her  eyes,  as  though  she 
was  struggling  to  thank  him  for  even  his  foolish 
and  futile  efforts  at  lightheartedness.  And 
while  she  still  gravely  lodced  np  at  him  he 
slipped  his  huge  wicker-covered  brandy-flask 
into  his  hip  pocket,  and  once  more  consulted  his 
watch. 

"Our  time  is  up!»'  he  said,  with  every  sem- 
blance of  levity  suddenly  fading  from  his  face. 
It  tortured  him  to  see  such  resigned  hopeless- 
ness in  her  quiet  eyes,  but  he  knew  it  was  peril- 
ous to  surrender  to  his  feelings. 

"I  know  it's  hard,"  was  aU  he  said,  "but  it 
has  to  be  done." 

"I  understand,"  she  said. 

He  turned,  with  his  hand  on  the  light-switch. 


296  THE  DEAD-LINB 

am  anytlung  yon  fed  yon  ooi^t  to  tak* 

along  with  yout" 

** Nothing,"  she  whispered. 

"Then  are  yon  ready t" 

"Quite  ready,"  was  her  answer. 

She  heard  the  snap  of  the  light-switch.  She 
heard  him  qnietly  turn  the  key  in  the  cabin  door- 
She  knew,  as  she  stood  with  her  hand  on  his 
sleeve,  that  he  was  listening  and  waiting  for 
the  sentry's  steps.  He  waited  until  they  passed 
and  died  away  toward  the  bow  of  the  ship. 
Then  he  noiselessly  opened  the  door  and  drew 
her  out  after  him  into  the  bladmess  of  tho 
babny,  musky-odoured  midnight  air. 


CHAPTEBZZVn 

TBB  VLXOBT 

They  crept  across  the  deck,  hand  in  hand, 
to  where  the  shadowy  outlines  of  one  of  the 
life-boats  blocked  their  path.  They  slipped  in 
under  the  bow  of  this  life-boat,  groping  their 
way  to  the  davi^  where  the  ship's  rail  ended. 
Before  them  was  a  drop  of  six  feet,  from  the 
ship's  deck  to  the  string-piece  of  the  pier, 
against  which  the  rusty  side-plates  were  creak- 
ing and  groaning. 

McKinnon  made  a  sadden  motion  for  the  girl 
to  wait,  for  dark  fignres  were  moving  about  on 
the  pier  below.  She  could  make  out  the  gloomy 
mass  of  the  weigh-scales  shed,  its  oxid-red  paint 
leaving  it  black  by  night.  She  could  see  that 
the  west  door  of  the  shed  was  open,  and  that 
a  figure  stood  just  inside  this  door,  holding  a 
lantern.  She  knew  it  was  the  officer,  for  she 
could  see  the  light  glimmer  on  the  sword-scab- 
bard that  moved  back  and  forUi  with  every 
movement  of  his  body.  She  eoold  see^  too^  thai 


296  THE  FLIGHT 


he  was  contentedly  smoking  a  cigarette.  She 
could  even  smell  the  tobacco  smoke,  mingled 
with  the  heavy  odour  of  a  decaying  shipment  of 
bananas  that  rotted  farther  oat  along  the  pier- 
edge. 

She  could  hear  low  voices,  now  and  then, 
speaking  cantionsly  in  Spanish,  as  two  bare- 
footed soldiers  padded  past  the  swinging  lan- 
tern, in  through  the  door.  They  carried  a  heavy 
box  that  reminded  her  of  a  baby's  coffin;  and 
as  they  came  out  again  two  others  passed  them 
on  tbdr  way  in. 

Then  she  felt  McKinnon  touch  her  arm,  wam- 
ingly,  and  heard  his  quick  whisper  for  her  to  be 
ready.  Sh  m\d  also  hear  the  slow  tread  of 
the  sentry  ^et  behind  her,  to  the  north  of 
the  shielding  life-boat. 

<<Now's  our  chance,''  McKinnon  was  saying 
in  her  ear.  He  dropped  silently  over  the  deck- 
edge.  She  could  just  make  out  the  white  patch 
of  his  face  as  he  stood  there  waiting  to  lift  her 
down. 

She  knew  no  emotion,  beyond  a  vague  and 
persistent  anxiety,  as  she  felt  his  arms  clasp  her 
surrendering  body.  The  moment's  intimate 
contact  brought  her  nether  joy  nor  repugnance. 
She  only  knew  that  McKinnon  was  leading  her 
by  the  hand  to  the  far  end  of  the  shed  that  faced 
the  west.  Then  he  took  away  his  hand,  and 


THE  FLIGHT  299 


drew  a  rarolver  from  his  pocket.  It  struck  her 
ttiat  the  odour  from  the  rotting  banana-pile  was 
becoming  almost  unendurable. 
She  followed  him  blindly,  her  outstretehed 

fingers  keeping  in  touch  with  his  coat-sleeve. 
She  saw  him  step  in  over  the  railway-tracks 
that  were  bridged  by  the  shed.  A  broken  right 
angle  of  light,  from  the  lantern  within,  outlined 
the  huge,  loosely  fitting  door  that  covered  the 
west  end  of  the  blaok-boaided  bnildiog.  In  this 
huge  door  a  smaller  one  had  at  some  time  been 
cut;  it  was  through  this  smaller  door  that 
McKinnon  led  her,  cautiously,  noiselessly. 

The  track-motor  stood  backed  ahnost  against 
the  eastern  end  of  the  shed,  next  to  the  door 
through  which  the  barefooted  soldiers  were 
carrying  the  heavy  boxes.  The  officer  with  the 
lantern  still  kept  his  position,  just  inside  this 
door,  placidly  smoking  his  cigarette. 

The  girl  and  McKinnon  had  to  stoop  low  to 
keep  in  the  shadow  of  the  square-topped,  heavy- 
bodied  motor-car.  They  crouched  in  under  its 
acetylenes,  dose  to  the  rust-covered,  many- 
dented  drcnlating  coil,  as  a  cartridge-box  was 
lifted  into  the  body  of  the  car  by  the  two  bare- 
footed carriers,  with  a  muffled  thump  as  the 
weight  was  released,  and  then  the  grc  ^  of 
wood  against  wood  as  the  box  was  pushed  and 
twisted  and  jerked  into  position.  They  could 


300  THE  FLIGHT 


iMtr  the  tif^'  of  one  of  fho  men,  the  pad  of  baro 
feet,  and  the  nonchalant  "Forty-three,  forty- 
fonr"  of  the  counting  officer. 

It  was  then  that  McKinnon  lifted  her  bodily 
into  the  driving-seat,  whispering  to  her  to  iit 
low,  even  catching  at  her  ontstretehed  hand 
and  conveying  it  to  the  starHng-lever. 

<<Start  as  the  door  opens,'*  she  heard  him 
ivhisper,  and  she  knew  that  he  had  crept  for- 
ward again,  and  that  she  was  alone  in  the  car. 
She  tried  to  school  herself  to  calmness,  to  coerce 
her  attention  on  which  was  the  starting-lever 
and  which  the  speed-lever,  to  force  'nto  life  the 
hope  that  all  might  still  tnm  out  well.  Once 
free  of  that  door,  she  felt,  she  could  Y  reathe 
agun. 

She  waited,  straining  through  the  dim  Offki, 
wondering  what  kept  McKinnon  so  long. 

Then  the  quietness  was  broken  by  the  sud- 
den sound  of  metal  rasping  on  metal,  of  a  fall- 
ing piece  of  wood  that  echoed  eavemonsly 
throns^  the  high-roofed  shed. 

""Vf  ho  is  there!**  cried  the  startled  officer,  in 
Spanish,  as  he  swung  about  with  his  lantern. 
He  whipped  out  a  revolver  from  his  belt  as  he 
repeated  the  challenge.  The  door  had  not 
opened;  they  were  shut  in,  trapped. 

The  officer  sprang  forward,  holding  the  lan- 
tern out  at  his  Ide  as  he  ran.  The  girl's  heart 


THE  FUQHT 


801 


stopped  beating:  it  was  over— it  waa  the  end  of 

everything! 

Then  a  sudden  roar  of  sonnd  filled  the  shed, 
foUowed  by  the  oraah  of  glass.  It  was  a  diot 
from  MeKinnon's  revolver,  a  deliberato  and 
well-put  shot  that  shattered  the  lantern  and  left 
the  place  in  darkness. 

*' Quick — come  ahead!**  called  McKinnon,  out 
of  the  darkness.  As  he  spoke  the  officer 
emptied  his  revolver  toward  the  sonnd  of  the 
intmder's  voice.  The  shots,  in  rapid  nuoei- 
•ion,  filled  the  shed  with  timralt,  left  the  air 
stifling  with  powder  smoke.  Quick  calls  and 
counter-calls  came  from  the  ship.  The  four 
barefooted  soldiers,  springing  for  their  car- 
bines, charged  in  through  the  narrow  east  door. 
They  fired  as  they  came,  but  only  into  ntter 
darkness. 

**Come  ahead!*'  ealled  MoKimion  ttffl  again 
out  of  that  darkness — she  could  not  tell  where. 
"Sit  low,  and  take  the  door  on  the  runi** 

She  hesitated,  bewildered,  for  the  command 
seemed  a  foolish  one.  The  carbines  were  spit- 
ting dose  about  her.  She  heard  the  cries  of 
alarm,  the  deafening  detonations,  the  crash  of 
wood. 

''For  6od*s  sake,  come  ahead!"  implored 
McKinnon.  She  knew  he  was  still  safe.  She 
no  iomrer  hesitated.   She  threw  the  starting* 


302  THE  FLIGHT 


kiver  back,  threw  the  speed  out  full,  and 
crouched  low  in  the  bottom  of  the  car  front. 
She  knew  that  somebody  was  clubbing  at  the 
seat  above  her  with  a  musket-end.  She  could 
hear  the  guns  of  the  Laminian's  sentries  giving 
the  alarm.  Then  the  doied  Iwr  ("yet,  and 
cronehed  lower,  for  she  kii0ir  iha  ear  sunder 
way. 

It  had  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  of  head- 
way before  it  struck  the  huge  pine  door  that 
barred  the  tracks.  There  was  a  sudden  rend- 
ing and  splintering  of  pine,  a  crunching  of 
wood,  and  the  car  had  gone  through  the  door 
like  a  honnd  throngh  a  paper  hoop. 

McKinnon  swung  up  beside  her  as  the  door 
went  down.  He  was  astride  her  body  almost, 
fighting  and  panting,  for  a  swarthy-facod  Lo- 
combian  was  on  the  car-step,  making  frenz?'id 
thrusts  at  her  with  his  carbine-end.  Anotht^r 
\7as  on  the  <»rtridge-boxes,  and  he  shot  once, 
scorching  the  operator*!  face  with  his  powder- 
flash  as  it  passed  him.  He  had  no  time  for  a 
second  shot,  for  McKinnon 's  hand  went  up  and 
his  revolver  barked.  The  carbine  fell  forward 
into  the  seat  between  them.  The  Locombian 
himself  rolled  sideways,  to  the  left,  with  a  howl 
of  pain.  He  staggered  to  his  feet,  swayed  Uiere 
a  second,  and  then  toppled  backward  over  the 
boxes,  and  fell  from  tiie  car. 


THE  FLIGHT  303 


AnotiiMr  man  totk  hit  plaot  m  b*  fdL 

IfftTTIniMm  sprang  for  him,  oatddnff  and  jerk- 
ing upward  the  barrel  of  hii  carbine  aa  ht  tod, 

tearing  a  hole  through  the  car-roof. 

Then  the  two  men  dosed,  and  aa  they  fought 
and  tore  at  each  other  in  the  ewerving  and 
pounding  car,  the  sentries  from  the  ship's  bow 
kept  firing  along  the  dark  trade 

Thn  a  third  man,  the  officer  who  had  hald 
the  lantern,  swung  from  the  now  racing  car's 
hand-rail  forward,  until  he  reached  the  driving- 
seat.  He  ha^  taken  out  his  sword — the  girl 
could  see  the  white  steel  glimmer  in  the  dim 
light.  The  thought  flashed  through  her,  as  she 
saw  it,  that  swords  wars  foolish  and  obsdeta 
waapona.  Sha  had  ahroya  looked  on  than  aa 
mere  ornaments  of  dress,  as  useless  as  aa 
epaulette.  But  now  she  knew  that  she  had  been 
mistaken,  for  she  could  see  the  agile  little  officer 
whipping  and  slashing  with  his  naked  blade  as 
he  climbed  and  worked  his  way  up  to  the  box- 
pile,  and  the  neamesa  of  that  glinunering  sted 
intimidated  her  even  more  than  a  carbine-flash 
could. 

It  must  have  been  several  seconds  before  she 
realised  that  the  slashing  sword-end  was  meant 
for  her,  that  the  frenzied  little  figure  was  beat- 
ing and  prodding  through  the  darkness  in  an 
effort  to  reach  her  own  shrinking  body.  Mo- 


304  THE  FLIGHT 


Kinnon's  revolver  lay  in  the  hrtUhn  of  the  car; 
the  girl  could  feel  it  with  hec  shaking  hfiuds. 
There  was  only  one  thing  to  dt , 

She  qnickly  raised  it,  closed  her  f)S,  and 
fired.  The  shot  went  wide,  for  she  had  aimed 
it  low,  at  his  knees.  But  it  served  to  fix  her 
position  in  the  mind  of  her  assailant;  and  vgain 
she  saw  the  naked  steel  flash  and  shimmer  in 
the  darkness.  She  fired  again,  before  it  had 
time  to  reach  her. 

She  knew  the  bullet  had  broken  his  arm,  even 
before  his  grasp  on  the  hand-rail  relaxed.  She 
saw  him  sway  back,  helplessly,  and  then  topple 
and  fall  outward,  against  the  stringpiece  of  the 
pier.  She  stood  up,  and  looked  back  for  her 
oompanion.  She  eonld  just  make  ont  the  two 
men  still  struggling  back  and  forth,  doggedly, 
determinedly.  Then  she  heard  a  short  scream 
of  agony,  for  one  of  the  stragglers  had  caught 
a  forefinger  of  the  other  and  levered  it  reso- 
lutely back,  until  it  snapped  and  brote  at  the 
third  joint.  Then,  even  before  that  cry  of  pain 
died  away,  she  saw  one  man  ruise  the  oilier 
up,  bodily,  and  bring  him  down  with  all  his  re- 
maining strength  on  the  close-packed  cartridg»> 
boxes.  The  blow  seemed  to  stun  him;  before 
his  senses  came  back  to  him  his  panting  adver- 
sary had  taken  advantage  of  that  helplessness, 


3. 

d 

d 

nr 
n 
n 

yd 

in 
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it 

0- 

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In 

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re 
r- 


THE  FLIGHT  805 

and  was  rolling  and  pnsiung  him  oot  from  tlie 

back  of  the  racing  car. 

He  remained  so  long  there  at  the  rear  of  the 
wr,  gasping  and  fighting  for  breath  again,  that 

as  to  who  had  been 
the  victor.  Then  he  eaUed  to  her,  and  she 
understood. 

She  lowered  the  revolver,  slowly,  as  he 
clambered  weakly  back  over  the  bozei.  and 
dropped  in  the  seat  beside  her. 

"Are  you  hurt?"  he  gasped. 

"No!"  she  said.  But  the  sound  was  more 
like  a  sob.  The  siren  of  the  Laminian  was  now 
screaming  and  bellowing  out  through  the  vel- 
vety black  quietness  of  the  midnight  waterfront 
The  sentries  on  the  ship  were  still  shootin* 
after  them,  foolishly,  and  adding  to  the  in^ 
mittent  uproar.  But  the  car,  by  this  time,  had 
cover^  more  than  half  of  the  mUe-long  pier. 
A  land-breeze,  bahny  and  many-odoured,  blew 
m  their  faces.  On  either  side  of  them,  through 

darkness,  pnlsed  the  ghostly  white  huxrw^k 
or  the  beach-surf. 


CHAPTEB  XXVm 


ZSOI  OOUHZn-TOBGn 

McKinnon's  cry  of  thankfulness  was  cat 
short  by  an  exclamation  from  the  girl  at  his 
side  as  the  car  rocked  and  swayed  along  the  un- 
even pier-track. 

''Look!*'  she  gasped.  ''They  are  dodng  fhe 
gates  ahead  of  nsl  They  are  shutting  us  in!" 

McKinnon  peered  through  the  darkness.  He 
could  see  a  number  of  moving  lights;  they 
shifted  about  through  the  gloom,  small  and  rest- 
less, like  fire-flies.  He  could  also  make  out  the 
shadowy  lines  of  a  building  or  two.  Where 
the  trade  ran  betweoi  these  buildings,  at  the 
end  of  the  pier,  a  white-painted  wooden  gate 
had  been  swung  and  locked  across  the  rails  to 
stop  the  car.  He  could  see  the  light  from  the 
restlessly  moving  lanterns  refracted  from  its 
painted  slats,  from  the  swords  of  the  officers 
and  the  rifles  of  fhe  waiting  soldiers. 

He  knew  what  it  meant,  bnt  it  was  too  late 
for  half-measnres.  '^tili  fhe  qtdeksess  of 

m 


THE  COUNTER-FORCES  307 


thought  he  jerked  down  two  of  the  heavy  cart- 
ridge-boxes, to  the  left  side  of  the  driving-seat, 
as  a  barricade  against  a  chance  bullet.  He  felt 
sure  it  would  be  only  a  chance  bullet ;  his  con- 
tempt for  both  the  arms  /id  the  marksman- 
ship of  the  Latin-American  was  of  long  stand- 
ing. He  hanled  and  twisted  and  rolled  two 
boxes  as  quit^y  down  on  the  right-hand  end 
of  the  driving-seat,  calling  to  the  girl  at  his 
side  to  croi:3h  down  between  his  knees  as  he 
reached  ont  and  took  the  speed-lever  in  his  own 
hand. 

Alioia  had  instinetively  slowed  down  the  car, 
for  the  moving  lights  were  now  not  more  than 
two  hundred  feet  before  them.  McFinnon,  with 
his  foot  held  ready  on  the  braiios,  threw  the 
motor  out  to  full  speed.  He  no  longer  felt 
afraid  of  the  flimsy  wooden  gate.  What  he 
feared  was  a  tie  across  the  track  or  a  switch 
thrown  open  to  derail  him.  And  any  moment, 
he  felt,  as  the  heavy  car  gathered  speed  and 
once  more  hurled  itself  forward,  fhey  wonld 
start  shooting  at  him  with  ihdr  potmetal 
rifles. 

He  crouched  lower  and  lower  between  his 
barricade  of  boxes  as  the  car  swung  in  toward 
the  shadowy  pier-end,  so  that  his  stooping  body 
forced  the  girl  to  die  very  floor  of  the  driving- 
seat  He  ssv  a  red  tongue  or  two  of  flame  dart 


308        THE  COUNTEB-FOBCES 


out  of  the  blackness  ahead  of  him,  and  he  knew^ 
that  the  firing  had  began.  He  oonld  hear  the 
whine  of  the  bullets  as  they  passed  overhead; 
he  could  hear  the  lead  ping  and  pound  against 
the  car-sides.  He  had  little  fear  for  the  boxes 
of  ammunition  surrounding  him;  the  cartridges 
were  covered  enough  by  the  powdered  flnxing- 
slag  to  be  coshioned  against  conciuision.  Once, 
indeed,  a  bullet  splintered  against  the  wood  of 
the  very  box  against  which  he  leaned.  He  held 
his  breath  and  waited,  racking  and  swinging 
onward  toward  the  moving  lights. 

But  still  the  firing  kept  up.  The  white- 
painted  gate  before  him  seemed  a  mirage, 
which  receded  as  he  advanced.  It  seemed  that 
he  wonld  never  get  to  it.  And  he  knew  what  a 
bnllet  might  do  at  -any  moment.  He  carried  no 
lights,  and  he  felt  certain  that  as  yet  the  men 
attacking  him  had  nothing  against  which  to  cen- 
tralise their  fire.  But  as  he  came  closer,  he 
knew  that  this  advantage  would  be  lost.  Then 
it  suddenly  occurred  to  him  that  a  show  of  re- 
sistance wonld  be  a  possible  help  to  him.  He 
had  no  time  to  feel  for  one  of  the  carbines  that 
still  lay  somewhere  abont  the  bottom  of  the  car. 
But  his  groping  fingers  found  the  revolver  on 
the  car-seat  cushion  behind  them. 

Before  his  arm  could  go  up,  however,  he  knew 
that  it  was  too  late.  The  fire  was  pouring  in 


THE  OOUNTfiB-FOBCES  d09 


on  them  broadside;  he  could  hear  the  whistle 
of  the  bullets  and  the  splintering  of  the  car-hood 
sides.  He  had  ridden  down  the  lights  and  the 
waiting  men. 

The  stabbing  and  jetting  and  drifting  powder 
smoke  obscured  the  gate  so  that  they  were  npon 
it  before  he  knew  it.  There  was  a  second  rend- 
ing and  snapping  of  wood,  a  vision  of  flying 
white  pickets,  a  cry  from  the  soldiers  on  either 
side  of  him.  But  the  car  had  passed  its  second 
barrier,  carrying  away  one  end  of  the  frame- 
n^rk  across  its  battered  lamps. 

McKinnon  took  a  deep  breath  and  waited  wiUi 
his  foot  still  on  the  brake,  oppressed  by  the  ter- 
ror of  a  sudden  derailment.  But  the  great  car 
kept  to  the  tracks  and  went  thundering  in  be- 
tween the  shadowy  buildings  that  mercifully 
shut  them  off  from  the  grilling  rifle-fire  of  De 
Brigard's  men.  He  knew,  by  the  passing  of 
the  thunderons  eeho,  that  they  were  in  the  opoi 
again,  circling  up  through  the  scattering  lines 
of  mud  huts.  The  sound  of  a  shot  or  two  stiU 
came  to  his  ears.  He  could  feel  the  girl  move; 
she  was  trying  to  rise  to  the  seat.  But  he  held 
her  there  between  his  knees  as  the  car  con- 
tinued to  pinnge  and  sway  along  the  crooked 
tradks.  Now  and  then  the  holding  of  dogs  OMma 
to  his  ears,  breaking  through  the  ec»itiniioiia 
BMBotoa*  of  the  wind's  rash  past  his  fsee. 


310       THE  COUNTEB-FOBCES 

straii  ing  and  peering  into  the  darkness  ahead. 
Far  out  in  the  roadstead  the  Laminian's  siren 
was  still  bellowing  and  roaring.  An  answering 
steam-whistle,  somewhere  in  the  east,  took  up 
the  stentorian  complaint;  lights  began  to  ap- 
pear in  the  houses  of  the  wakened  town. 

Alicia,  still  pinned  down,  by  his  knees,  was 
struggling  and  calling  to  him.  He  knew  that 
she  was  safe,  that  she  was  still  unharmed,  and 
that  was  all  he  cared  to  know. 

''Hnrryt"  she  called  to  him. 

''Tes,"  he  answered,  leaning  closer  to  catch 
her  words. 

"We  circle  about  the  town,"  she  was  calling 
into  his  ear.  "We  have  to  come  out  by  Point 
Asuncion,  next  to  the  new  hospital.  There  will 
be  guards  there.  They  can  cross  from  the  pier- 
end  almost  as  soon  as  we  can  drde  aroimdl" 

"It's  ont  to  the  last  notch,'*  McEinnon  ex- 
plained, and  she  had  to  steady  herself  in  tiie 
reeling  car  by  suddenly  catching  at  his  arm. 

"They'll  try  to  stop  ns  there!"  she  called 
out  to  him  once  more. 

"They  can't  I"  he  called  back  recklessly,  al- 
most dronkenly,  for  the  speed  of  their  escape 
seemed  to  have  gone  to  his  bead.  "They 
can't!" 

He  suddenly  forced  her  down  to  her  former 
position,  between  his  sheltering  knees,  for  his 


THE  COUNTEB-FOBCES  311 


strainmg  eyes  had  once  moM  oani^t  of 

moving  lanterns  ahead. 

The  girl  was  right  I  They  had  passed  through 
the  heart  of  the  town,  and  were  once  more  on 
its  ragged  ontskirts.  They  were  following  a 
little  embankment  of  made  land,  of  a  fflled-in 
swamp-side,  littered  mth  cinders  and  acsrap- 
iron.  McKinnon  could  see  the  oily  glimmer  of 
water  beneath  him,  to  the  right.  To  the  left, 
the  ghosthice  chimney  and  walls  of  a  power- 
house floated  past,  and  were  lost  behind  them, 
as  the  oar  rumbled  over  a  culvert  and  ground 
and  bit  vnth  its  ^eel-flanges  on  the  curve  that 
took  them  sweeping  in  again  toward  Pdnt 
Asuncion.  But  all  the  while  his  eyes  were  on 
the  moving  lights  ahead. 

Suddenly  he  uttered  a  startled  cry,  a  cry  that 
had  more  resentment  than  fear  in  it.  Then  he 
stood  up  in  his  seat,  reaching  back  for  one  of 
the  carbines  as  he  rose.  For  the  drifting  and 
shifting  lights  had  defined  themselyes.  He  had 
made  out  the  meaning  of  the  movement  that  he 
had  to  face. 

It  was  a  body  of  uniformed  men  carrying  a 
bridge-girder  of  iron.  And  he  knew  that  girder 
was  meant  to  stop  his  flight.  His  last  doubt 
as  to  his  enony's  intention  disappeared  with 
the  sudden  pinging  of  a  rifle-bullet  throni^ 
dazkness  above  him. 


312        THE  COUNTEB-FOBOES 


He  ducked  low  as  Le  heard  the  e  md,  anA 
brought  his  carbine  into  play.  Throwing  the 
old-fashioned  magazine-lever  down  and  back, 
he  took  quick  but  careful  aim  at  the  moving 
lanterns,  light  by  light.  It  was  not  until  his 
magaiine  wm  empty  that  he  dropped  fh« 
weapon  and  canght  np  his  revolyer.  IBs  shoia 
were  going  wild,  he  knew,  hot  he  did  not  stop. 
He  saw  the  moving  lights  come  to  a  halt,  al- 
most beside  the  track-edge.  He  saw  one  of  them 
go  down  and  scatter,  and  the  oil  break  into 
flames.  He  saw  the  remaining  lights  waver, 
draw  back,  and  disperse.  And  the  girder  fell 
as  the  men  wavered  and  retreated.  Bat  it  M 
not  fall  on  the  rails. 

He  swept  past  where  it  lay  beside  the  bn  n- 
intr  oil,  six  good  feet  from  the  track.  He  heard 
the  hasty  volley  they  tried  to  pour  in  on  him, 
broadside,  as  he  went.  But  they  had  nothing 
more  than  a  racing  shadow  for  a  target,  and 
the  ear  had  thundered  past  before  they  aeold 
make  a  second  move.  He  felt  tl^  gixl  clasping 
his  knee;  whether  from  frif^t  or  weakness  or 
gratitude  at  their  deliverance  he  could  not  tell. 
Nor  did  he  care  to  ask  as  he  helped  her  up  into 
the  seat. 

They  were  clear  of  the  town  now,  and  in  the 
open  ooontry.  A  long  level  stretdi  of  swan^h 
land,  mnsky-smelling,  miasmal,  blanlEeled  wi^ 


THE  00UNTEE-F0B0X8  815 


McKinnon  koffir  that  no  courier  oonld  ov«tek» 

them.  He  remembered  that  no  wires  ran  from 
Puerto  Locombia  inland,  that  the  coast  was  cut 
off  from  the  hinterland,  that  they  were  com- 
paratively safe  until  they  had  climbed  the 
Height  of  Land  and  Onariqni  ItMlf  eunt  ia 
light  Then  then  would  be  the  libtral  •mr'fe 
lines  to  run,  De  Brigard*s  sentinel!  to  pass. 
Then,  if  all  went  well,  their  journey  would  be 
at  an  end.  Getting  into  Ouariqui  would  mean 
one  last  risk  and  one  last  fight;  but  in  the  mean- 
time they  were  safe. 

He  knened  the  mad  speed  of  the  ear  a  little^ 
wondering,  for  the  first  time,  if  they  carried 
enough  gasoline  to  see  them  to  their  joumey*t 
end.  The  more  he  thought  over  that  problem 
of  gasoline  supply  the  more  it  disturbed  him. 
With  his  tank  once  empty  they  would  be 
stranded  in  a  hostile  country,  in  which  there 
wdM  be  no  hiding,  from  whidi  tb«e  bo 
no  escape.  The  mere  terrifying  thought  of  took 
a  oontingai^  caused  him  to  throw  out  the 
speed-lever  a  notch  or  two.  He  noticed,  as  they 
plunged  on  and  on  through  the  quietness  of  the 
night,  that  his  hands  were  cut  and  scratched, 
that  his  face  was  caked  with  dried  blood,  that 
his  body  was  sore  and  stiff.  But  deep  with- 
in biia  was  a  persiirtfflit  and  ^f«<|BfiifhaMlit  i^knr 


8U       THE  COUNTEB-FOBCES 


«f  eihllanitioii,  Miiitfliiiig  moi«  tiitt  wttm 
■peed-drmikaiiiesB  and  inert  thaakfolMHi 

delivexy  from  past  dangers. 

It  was  the  world-old  and  primordial  joy  in 
accomplishment,  the  intoxication  of  conquest 
implanted  in  him  by  a  thousand  fighting  ances- 
tors. And  h«  felt  «t  his  ti^  the  tired  aii^vop- 
tazed  body  of  the  woman  for  wham  he  wm  bet- 
tling;  and  as  she  swayed  there  with  the  sway- 
ing of  the  car,  letting  he-  weight  fall  againrt 
his  shoulder  and  then  recede  from  it,  this  fe 
ing  that  might  have  been  nothing  more  than 
pagan  exultation  was  touched  and  transformed 
into  something  higher.  The  air  beat  against 
ibdr  faoes,  side  by  side;  noetnmid  moUis  fbA- 
tened  against  their  dothbg  and  wmm  IM  Obm^ 
by  the  wind. 

McKinnon  could  see  that  they  were  beginning 
to  climb,  now  that  the  swamp-land  had  been  left 
behind,  and  that  leaves  and  palm-fronds  were 
nutling  on  either  side  of  them.  The  air  seemed 
to  grow  clearer,  the  darkness  less  at^rsasaL 
He  could  see  that  they  were  at  lust  on  the  edgi 
of  the  bsDana-belt,  still  climbing  and  poondiiig 
and  swav  .jg  upward.  Their  path  was  now  a 
lonely  aisle  through  the  forest  of  rustling 
greenery  that  crowded  up  to  the  very  track- 
edge;  sometimes  a  leaf  swept  the  car-roof.  At 
times  they  eonld  hear  the  lipple  of  water  in 


THE  COUNTEB-FOBOES  818 


irrigatioa  ditches.  Oom  a  light  swung  across 
the  track,  a  mile  ahead.  It  brought  the  lever 
out  to  fnll  speed  again,  and  a  carbine  ready, 
and  the  two  figures  in  the  car  lower  down  be- 
hind their  barricade.  A  voice  shouted  to  them, 
petulantly,  out  of  the  darkness  as  they  swept 
past,  but  tiiat  was  all. 

They  were  grinding  and  sereeehlng  on  a 
enrve  again,  before  MeQimon  could  lessen  the 
speed.  As  they  swept  around  the  sharp  quar- 
ter-circle, the  car  descended  on  what  must  have 
been  a  grazing  burro  or  a  steer.  The  heavy 
framework  shuddered  with  the  force  of  the  im- 
pact; there  was  an  ammal-like  sound,  half- 
groan,  half-gmnt,  as  the  obstructing  blaek  mass 
was  thrown  aside.  McKinnon  felt  a  spurt  of 
blood  flung  up  in  his  face,  and  the  next  mo- 
ment held  his  breath,  for  he  knew  they  had  sped 
out  on  a  cobweb  of  steel  that  bridged  the 
canonlike  bed  of  a  river.  But  still  they  kept  on, 
np  and  up,  until  the  gradient  began  to  tdl  on 
the  motor  and  the  air  grew  peroeptiUy  eootor. 
Forest  trees  were  about  them  now,  and  fh^ 
could  hear  the  startled  call  of  birds  and  the  cry 
of  monkeys.  Once  a  jaguar  called  out  through 
the  night,  and  once,  as  they  swept  past  a  Bleep- 
ing village  of  little  white  huts,  they  saw  the 
glow  of  coals  in  an  open  nmd  oven. 

But  still  the  flying  wheds  carried  them  up 


816        THE  COUNTEB-FOBCES 


and  op  until  they  eonld  see  behind  &em  the 
▼agoe  glimmer  of  the  Caribbean,  and  the  star- 
light grew  so  dear  that  McKinnon  cotdd  make 
out  the  woman's  locked  hands  in  her  lap  at 
his  side.  He  felt  her  shiver  with  the  cold,  and 
forced  her  to  drink  a  little  of  the  liquor  from 
his  brandy-flask.  Then  he  groped  about,  look- 
ing for  a  covering,  for  he  knew  that  as  the  altii- 
titude  grew  greater  the  cold  would  increase. 
Under  the  seat-cushions  he  found  an  inlddn 
coat,  and  helped  her  into  it.  The  coat  was  mnch 
too  large  for  her,  but  he  doubled  it  over,  in 
front,  and  held  it  in  with  a  cushion-strap  about 
her  waist. 

He  noticed,  for  the  first  time,  that  they  were 
bothhatless.  And  as  he  began  to  feel  the  pene- 
trating chill  creep  into  his  own  bones,  be  swal- 
lowed a  mouthful  of  brandy  and  buttoned  his 
coat  close  up  to  his  throat.  But  they  were  still 
racing  on,  up  and  up  toward  the  Cordilleras. 
And  he  thsuiked  what  gods  he  thought  were 
watching  over  him  that  the  gasoline  had  held 
<nit,  and  that  the  ear  had  kept  to  its  tradn. 

A  cluster  of  three  or  four  lights  showed 
ahead,  on  their  left,  and  bronghft  a  littla  erj 
from  the  girl. 

"That's  Paraisol"  she  caUed  out  to  him. 
"The  road  divides  here.  We  must  take  the 
track  to  the  right." 


THE  CX)nNTE&.FOBOE£  m 


**Timi  means  a  switehP'  called  McKinnon, 
ilowhig  down. 

"We  have  to  drde  Paraiao  BSlf**  she  ex- 
plained. Then  she  stood  up,  with  her  hand  on 
his  shoulder,  and  peered  ahead  through  the 
darkness. 

''And  on  the  other  side  of  Paraiso  Hill  is 
Onariqui,"  she  said. 

It  startled  him  to  see  that  die  was  crying  a 
little,  for  no  acoomitable  reason^  as  she  sat  iMMk 
in  her  seat  at  his  side. 


CHAPTEB  XXIX 


THE  DISPUTED  TRAIL 

MdKatvGs  kept  slowing  tbe  ear  down,  at  the 
repeated  warning  of  Alida,  until  tbey  did  noth- 
ing more  than  creep  along  the  rails.  No  lights 
were  to  be  seen  now,  and  the  heavy  foliage  on 
either  side  of  the  track  left  them  in  what  was 
almost  an  nnbroken  tunnel  of  darkness. 

So  McKinnon  leaned  out  over  the  side  of  the 
slowly  moving  car,  waiting  for  the  telltale  <^uff 
of  tbe  wheels  against  tbe  metal  of  the  switch- 
points.  They  groped  their  way  <m  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  at  this  snail's  pace  before  this 
telltale  jolt  told  them  the  wheel-flanges  had 
struck  and  swerved  against  the  "points.**  The 
switch  was  set  for  the  left-hand  track,  so  they 
had  to  reverse  and  baok  away  again,  coining  to 
8  standstill  some  ten  or  twelve  paces  east  of 
the  switeh-stand  target.  Then  McKinnon  went 
forward  to  reconnoitre,  leaving  the  girl,  with 
the  revolver,  to  guard  the  car. 

He  made  two  discoveries  as  he  crept  hnr- 

818 


THE  DISPUTED  TBAIL  3t»^ 


tiodfy  about  tite  tmsk  in  fhe  darioiets.  'Tbid 
first  was  that  the  switch  was  locked.  Thedosed 
padlock  resisted  his  fiercest  tugs  and  wrendies. 
He  had  compel  himself  to  calmness  and  de- 
mand of  his  jaded  intelligence  some  more 
adequate  means  of  attack. 

He  returned  to  the  car,  after  a  moment  of 
thought,  and  groped  about  until  he  found  one 
of  the  army-rifles  lying  between  the  cartridge- 
boxes.  Then  he  felt  his  way  back  to  the  switch, 
and  worked  his  gun-end  carefully  in  through 
the  lock-chain.  It  did  not  take  him  long,  using 
his  carbine-barrel  as  a  crowbar,  to  pry  and 
twist  the  lever  free. 

Bh  second  disooyery  was  a  more  alarming 
one.  Standing  on  the  Onariqni  tnu^  block- 
ing his  way,  was  a  flat-car.  This  car  was  piled 
high  with  roughly  hewn  sticks  of  logwood.  To 
push  any  such  dead  weight  as  this  ahead  of  them 
to  Guariqui  was  out  of  the  question.  He  knew 
it  would  have  to  be  hauled  back  and  side- 
trad^ed  on  the  rails  to  the  left  Whether  or 
not  it  was  beyond  the  strength  of  hk  motor 
only  an  actual  test  could  tell. 

He  found  a  chain  binding  the  logwood-pile 
together,  and  after  a  few  minutes  of  hard  work 
this  chain  was  securely  attached  to  his  car-axle 
and  hooked  over  the  coupling-pin  of  the  flat- 
car. 


ill 


320 


THE  DISPITTBD  TBAIL 


Bnt  try  as  he  miglit,  fhe  obttaole  was  not  to 

be  removed.  The  loaded  car  refused  to  stir. 
One  of  its  wheels,  pocketed  in  a  half-inch  de- 
pression caused  by  a  flattened  rail-end,  held  it 
anchored  to  the  spot.  His  motor,  snlldng  and 
back-firing  nnder  the  nnnatoral  strain,  was  not 
strong  enough  for  the  task.  And  he  was  sorely 
afraid  of  injuring  his  engine  and  finding  him- 
self broken  down  and  helpless  on  the  very  oat- 
skirts  of  De  Brigard's  lines.  He  saw  that  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  unload  the  fiat-oar  where 
it  stood. 

Alieia  wonld  have  helped  him  at  that  slow 
and  dreary  labour,  bat  he  pdnted  out  tohor 
necessity  of  standhig  on  gnard  wbilo  he  worioed. 
The  rough-hewn  sticks  of  logwood  seemed 
heavy  beyond  belief.  Some  of  them,  which  he 
could  not  lift,  he  had  to  work  slowly  outward 
and  let  fall  from  the  side  of  the  car.  He  also 
had  to  xiiake  sore  that  every  log  and  stick  fell 
dear  of  the  tradE. 

His  mnsdes  aelied,  hit  fiageiB  aeeuMdl  w^ 
oat  joints,  his  strengtii  was  gone.  Twice  he  had 
to  resort  to  heavy  drafts  from  his  brandy-fiaak. 

But  he  worked  on,  doggedly,  sullenly,  argu- 
ing with  himself  that  he  ought  to  be  grateful 
that  he  was  gaining  his  end  without  being  dis- 
oovtred,  picturing  what  sodi  labour  wmild  be 
iffider  the  fire  of  a  doz»i  half-breed  shaiy* 


THE  DISPT7TED  TRAIL  821 

shooters  at  short  nmge.  Then  he  tried  to  con- 
sole himself  with  the  thought  thftt  his  gasoline 
had  held  out,  that  another  seven-mile  dash 
would  see  them  pounding  their  way  into  Guari- 
qui.  And  once  in  Guariqui  was  safety,  and  rest, 
and  sleep— above  all  things,  sleep.  There 
wonld  first  be  good  hot  eoifee,  in  plenty,  and 
food.  And  thea  he  would  be  given  a  bed  some- 
where. The  thought  of  that  bed  seemed  the 
most  oonsoling  of  all.  It  suggested  a  Nirodha 
of  utter  indifference  after  a  night  of  utter 
anguish;  it  grew  to  symbolise  an  utter  Nirvana 
of  rest  for  his  over-wearied  body. 

But  a  new  fear  suddenly  stabbed  through  him 
as  be  stooped  and  kbooied  so  doggedly  <nmt 
his  lumbering  sticks  of  logwood.  Would  day- 
light  come  before  they  were  on  their  way  again  f 
Were  they  to  be  c&vi^i  and  tiiq;»ped,  after  all, 
by  the  rising  sunt 

His  watch  had  run  down;  in  the  excitement 
of  the  last  twenty  hours  he  had  neglected  to 
windil  All  erase  of  time  had  kog  duos  passed 
from  him. 

He  turned  and  looked  up  at  the  sky.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  the  great  velvet  dome 
studded  with  silver  star-points  was  less  opaque, 
was  more  luminous,  than  it  had  been.  The 
eastern  horizon  was  shut  off  from  him  by  a  wall 
oi  heavy  foliage;  he  eoold  see  bo  ttfliale  Kae 


822        THE  DISPUTED  TRAIL 


of  breaking  light.  But  it  seemed  to  him  tluit 
the  darkness  abont  him  was  waning,  merjg^xig 
into  a  gray  and  ghostlike  translucence.  Some- 
where out  of  the  distance,  as  he  looked,  came 
the  tmmd  of  a  rooster  crowing. 

There  was  scmiething  uMXHignioiis  in  tiw 
trivial  everydayness  of  that  casual  ooek-eraw. 
Tet  this  ludicrously  commonplace  sound  sent  a 
tingle  of  terror  through  him.  It  caused  him 
to  turn  back  to  his  ragged  and  ponderous  slabs 
of  logwood,  lifting  and  tearing  at  them  until 
blood  dripped  from  his  bruised  finger-ends  and 
his  head  swam  as  wifh  a  yertigo. 

Ho  leaped  back,  suddenly, /with  a  gahranb 
start,  as  though  the  log  at  which  he  clutched 
had  been  a  power-circuit.  For  close  beside  him 
stood  the  figure  of  Alicia,  ghost-like  in  the  UDr 
certain  grayness  about  them. 

"The  light's  coming,"  she  warned  him.  "I 
must  help  you." 

"No— no,*'  he  cried,  knowing  such  work  'JM 
beyond  her  strength,  "you  must  go  back  to  tilt 
car!  For  (Jod's  sake,  guard  the  car!" 

"But  you  can't  do  it— you  can't  keep  fhia 
up!"  she  cried,  in  pitying  protest. 

"Go  back  to  the  car  this  is  my 

work  and  I'm  going  to  fttddi 

it!" 

The  maddffning  thou^t  that  a  new  taumf. 


THE  d: 


TED  TRAIL 


this  relentless  enemy  of  light,  was  on  his  heels, 
tamed  him  back  to  his  wortc,  frenziedly,  nntil 
Mi  lieart  poanded  like  a  trip-hammer  under  his 
msMttg  breft8t4Kme,  and  his  bz«ath,  in  that  rar»- 
fied  atmosphere,  came  with  short,  painfnl  gasps. 

He  had  to  resort  to  his  brandy-flask  before 
he  conld  reach  the  car  again.  There  he  rested 
for  a  precious  minute  or  two,  explaining  to 
Alicia  that  he  would  pry  against  the  empty  flat- 
oar's  wheel  with  a  logwood  stick,  while  she 
hauled  and  tugged  at  its  lower  aid  with  the  re- 
Tersed  motor. 

It  was  perilous  work,  calling  for  the  utmost 
caution  lest  one  fault  of  judgnierit  undo  all  his 
labour.  It  was  a  moment  when  everything  hung 
in  the  balance,  when  one  grain  of  ill-luck  would 
send  the  beam  swinging  up  against  them.  But 
aa  inarticiihite  Uttie  ory  hurst  from  him  as  he 
sawfhe  bUu£  mass  slowly  yield,  and  then 
inch  hy  hmguid  inch*  He  heard  the  grind  of 
the  rusty  wheel-flanges  against  Uie  switd^ 
points,  and  knew  that  he  had  won. 

Then  the  operation  was  repeated,  when  once 
the  switch  had  been  cleared  and  the  lev^r 
thrown  over,  and  again  the  stubborn  flat-car 
was  pried  and  poshed  into  motion.  When  it 
came  to  a  standstill,  it  was  left  resting  mSl 
off  to  the  left  of  the  switeh,  with  the  rcMid  to 
Guariqui  once  more  open. 


GHAPTEB  XXX 


THB  LAtT  mscn 

McKinnon's  ears  were  ringing,  and  his  head 
still  swam  a  little,  as  he  climbed  into  the  track- 
motor's  drivin^^eai  He  noticed,  too,  as  thej 
gathered  speed,  that  he  was  wet  with  sweat,  and 
that  the  cool  monntaiii  air  was  sendiiig  a  '^Mi? 
into  his  very  bones. 

"Look I  It»s  daylight  coming!"  cried  the 
girl  at  his  side.  He  peered  out  through  the 
phantasmal  grayness  that  lightened  about  them, 
and  a  new  anxiety  crept  and  corroded  through 
an  his  adiing  bo^^.  There  would  be  no  appre- 
ciable period  of  friendly  twilight  The  trojnfls, 
he  knew,  would  explode  the  full  light  of  day  on 
them  like  a  rocket.  And  between  him  and  saf ^ 
still  lay  seven  miles  of  track. 

"It  will  have  to  be  full  speed  now— to  the 
Old,"  he  told  the  girl. 

She  eaUed  badi,  "Tea— I  know,"  as  the  kvtr 
went  to  the  last  notdi  toad  the  oar  taeked  aiyj 
poonded  along  the  mieven  nils.  The  fonfl  liiil 


away,  and  they  came  into  a  more  broken 
country,  winding  and  twisting  between  bald  and 
rooky  billSi  past  ooffee-fanns  from  which  early 
aw«k«Md  diogi  barktd  <nit  at  fhem.  Bat  the 
raggccl-booded  oar  raeed  and  ponadod  forward, 
taking  the  sharp  curves  with  a  scream  of  pro- 
test,  striking  with  malignant  heels  at  every 
passing  switch-point.  Then  the  light  grew 
stronger;  they  could  see  a  more  orderly  and 
level  country  studded  with  rancho  and  hacienda, 
and  a  erooked,  aii]i4>aked  road,  white  with  dost, 
and  ImdEcn  walla,  and  dnmpa  of  ttonted  trtaa. 

Than  the  girl  gaiva  a  erj  and  eani^t  at  hia 
arm. 

"Guariquil"  she  said,  pointing  toward  the 
northwest.  He  had  no  time  to  look,  for  at  the 
same  moment  his  own  eyes  had  caught  sight  of 
aoBMtiiiBg  whieh  filed  him  with  an  even  more 
oompelling  emotion. 

Before  ilie  rooky  bill-erests  toward  wliieli 
they  were  sweeping,  he  caught  sight  of  a  row 
of  smoke  columns  and  the  serried  white 
splashes  of  tent  walls  against  the  yellow-gray 
of  the  parched  fields.  He  leaped  to  his  feet  as 
lie  taw  it.  He  surrendered  the  lever  recklessly, 
and  tamed  and  atmggled  with  oae  of  t^  ear- 
trklie>bo!ze8  on  the  row  behind  them.  He  polled 
and  tugged  and  worked  it  quickly  forward,  to 
boi^te  tl»  btnricade  on  the  rii^t-haad  nde 


326  THE  LAST  DITCH 


of  the  car,  for  he  knew  they  were  charging  down 
on  De  Bri(5ard'8  camp.  He  realised  that  their 
climacteric  moment  was  at  hand,  that  the  time 
for  their  last  dash  across  the  enemy's  linM  had 
come. 

Already  he  oould  see  tiie  paoiiig  sentiks  m 

they  met  and  conntermarched  between  the  scat- 
tered splashes  of  white.  He  could  see  the  cor- 
raled  horses  and  mules  of  De  Brigard's  cav- 
alry feeding  together.  As  the  car  raced  on,  he 
could  even  make  out  groups  of  men  in  ragged 
uniform,  barefooted,  squatting  abont  the  easiiN 
fires. 

Some  of  them  he  oonld  see  stooping  quietly 
over  black  pots;  one  group  was  splashing  and 
v  hing  at  a  long  wooden  water-trough.  There 
seemed  something  tranquil  in  the  scene,  some- 
thing strangely  unlike  the  way  of  war  in  the 
slowly  rising  smoke  columns,  in  the  slowly  mofV- 
ing  barefooted  men,  in  the  ronchoa  of  palm  and 
tiee-boughs,  in  the  water-trough  and  the  ttmh 
qnilly  feeding  horses  and  mules. 

Then  the  scene  changed,  with  the  quickness 
of  a  stage-picture.  The  cue  for  that  change 
came  with  a  challenge  from  sentry  and  then 
a  single  rifle  shot  from  a  second  sentry  on  goatd 
farther  along  the  track-edge.  The  oaaqp 
dianged  witb  lliat  shot. 

It  seemed.  to^McKiimon  like  tlie  sodden 


THE  LAST  DITGH 


837 


duuife  that  swept  throoi^  Us  oolMrur-tet 

when  vitalised  with  its  magaetio  current  The 
sentry,  in  the  meantime,  repeated  the  shot, 
three  times,  until  the  man  in  the  charging  car 
stood  np  and  returned  his  fire,  sharply,  driv- 
ing Idm  to  cover. 

But  the  alarm  had  been  given.  The  trte- 
dinqM  and  the  Inrobia  stone  walls  sesmad  to 
swarm  with  men;  the  white  tents  became 
strangely  like  homety*  nests  disgorging  excited 
occupants.  The  barefooted  idlers  grouped 
about  the  camp-fires  no  longer  watched  the  pots 
and  splashed  about  the  water-trough.  They  be- 
eame  armed  irregular  infantry;  they  were  sud- 
denly transformed  into  a  vindktive  and  reso- 
lute-minded company  whose  one  purpose  in  life 
was  to  pour  lead  into  a  huge,  rusted,  bullet-rid- 
dled track-motor  that  had  ridden  down  their 
sentries  and  broken  into  their  very  lines. 

Pot  one  incongruous  moment  McKinnon  had 
fdt  vaguely  sorry  for  Hiose  lean  and  hungry- 
looUng  and  unkempt  kQers  in  dirty  denim  wA- 
forms.  He  had  thought  at  them  as  homeless 
and  unhappy  men  who  were  being  made  the 
tools  of  forces  which  they  could  not  compre- 
hend. Now  they  seemed  to  him  dancing  and 
running  brown-faced  fiends,  doing  their  best  to 
put  a  iRdlet  tiirongh  the  head  of  a  stranger  who 
WM  very  tired  toad  hmgrj,  and  m  litfie  tipsy, 


m  SB  BIXOH 


perhaps,  from  immoderate  cbafiB  «f  ht9a&f  «• 
a  wtMfy  onpty  stoauMb. 

Ba  iBW  tbem,  as  in  a  dream,  W  Iw  scarcely 
fm  them  a  thons^t.  AH  he  knew  was  that  the 
l»man  hiiddi^?d  down  at  '  sid  •  w?  at*''  ife, 
and  his  ear  v^ap  st*  und  w^ay.  B<  "ol  that, 
he  knew,  -  othing  c  anted,  'eai  snooped 
a<  his  he«i^  too  often  *ad  tot  dost  'hat 
ba  waa  snpmadiy  c©«teffiirt!w»«  ^  it*- 
oraclEer  poipinr  asd  tb«r  nn^^eias  ga  He 
wanted  to  get  0  i  jui  m  nBxe  something 
to  eat,  and  ^n  s''  for  at  good  hours. 
And  the  ra(   x      ^  made  him  dizzy. 

And  eve  "^  born  h  \  »uj  ached.  And  he 
wondered  how  k  og  he    ^^nid  ba^a  to  katp 

Hbea  fet  sat  t  A,  wif*^    sif^  mA  reafeed  his 

«ML  tl  '  Loticed  t;  at  h  >  gnn-barrel  was  hot 
to  i(f  t(  ich.  He  no  tr»o,  that  the  noise  of 
til  ?v,,nt!iig  is  L  ^  disqnietingly  loud  in 
h  s  Jt  bt    n  t<   lawn  on  his  dazed  mind 

th  ht^  ii  ^ed  Uie  worst  of  tha  l^^il.  Ha 
3^  to  ui  ^t^Bd  that  tkey  had  foroed  thafar 
way  tep^#  3a  Bri^arf's  lines,  that  they  v^are 
swkg^;  ap  o  tl  i  skirts  of  the  capital,  thai 
fliey  \r   e  t    reac,    /uar'qui,  after  all. 

Th  '  n  he  remembered  pounding  out  over  a  nar- 
row iron  bridge,  under  which  flashed  and  rip- 
pled 1  little  stream  as  blue  as  a  robi&'a  egg. 


XBB  LAST 


It  aai*  Urn  4kiid[^  te  •  mmmt,  hm  ftiftty 
he  was,  how  much  h«  wmrti  #f«  for  •  Mid 

of  that  rippling  bine  water.  Then  all  thought 
of  the  stream  passed  from  his  indifferent  mind, 
for  before  him  he  could  see  walls,  white  walls 
and  blue  wa}^%  and  pink  walls,  and  above  them 
Inddled  rtd  oofs,  and  the  dark  green  of  tree- 
topa,  aad  a  jtUktm  MtiiMbal-tower,  and  tlUl 
farther  away  a  colored  roof-dmnt  i^imiQerbif 
like  a  ball  of  fire  n  the  slanting  snnliglrt.  Then 
he  heard  a  bugle  ^^^U,  and  call  again,  ■watt  as 
ailver,  like  a  voice  put  of  a  dream. 

That  mellow  and  ^'-ailing  note  was  punc- 
tuated by  the  sudden  blow-like  sounds  of  rifle- 
from  umawhera  avid  tlia  mtik  whitt  tad 
blue  and  pmk  of  the  very  waUa  ahead  of  Itfan. 
Ee  saw  the  track-ballast  about  him  leap  and 

npt  into  ominous  little  clouds  of  flying  dust. 

loa's  outposts  were  shooting  at  him,  from 
OuariquL  They  were  under  fire,  from  thdr  own 
people. 

*«Qoukl"  ho  caM  to  tha  giri.  "Shaw  a 

*'Howf"  aha  aikad^  not  understandinf. 
''Tie  it  to  a  carbine-end!  Quick!" 
"Tie  what!"  she  called  in  his  r^r. 
"A  flag— a  white  hag— anifth 
He  knew,  the  next  moment, ' 
tag  a  llaaa  aadankirt  fnn  k 


m  THE  LAST  DITCH 


oould  see  her  quick  fingers  rip  it  into  an  oUong 
of  fluttering 'wMto.  He  stooped  for  the  etfyne 
that  lay  in  the  car-hottom,  and  as  ho  stooped 
he  heard  the  girl  call  to  1dm. 

It  was  a  call  of  something  more  than  alarm. 
It  was  terror  mithinking  and  abject  terror. 

He  was  back  at  her  side  in  a  second:  his  first 
sickening  thought  was  that  a  ballet  had  reached 
h«r. 

But  he  saw  only  her  oatotretohed  hand, 
pointing  foolishly  and  vagnely  to  something  in 
front  of  her.  He  saw  hei  wide  and  staring  eyes, 
as  she  crouched  down  and  back,  lower  and  lower 
in  the  driving-seat,  as  though  preparing  her- 
self for  some  vast  and  overwhelming  blow. 

He  whipped  ahoot  and  f flowed  the  Hae  of 
thai  twrrified  afiue.  Then  he  nndemtood  whal 
it  meant  He  saw  iHiere  the  two  lines  of  the 
narrow-gauge  track  came  to  an  end;  he  saw 
where  some  half-dozen  lengths  of  rails  had  been 
torn  away,  and  tossed  to  one  side.  He  saw  the 
track,  on  which  they  rode,  the  track  which  he 
had  come  to  regard  aa  aomethbv  ^Bb»A  and 
BtaUe,  aa  aomefihig  pmuumt  aa 
itself,  end  in  nothing. 

His  foot  went  down  on  the  emergency  brake, 
viciously,  at  the  same  moment  that  his  outflung 
arm  threw  the  speed  lever  off.  He  knew,  even 
then,  that  it  was  all  osel^s,  that  it  was  all  too 


THE  LAST  DITCH 


late.  Bat  li»  aeted  ndbeonsoionsly,  antomat- 
ically.  He  knew  wbat  vaa  ecmiiiig,  em  befim 
the  wheel-flanges  dropped  from  the  nul-eni 
and  lunged  and  shook  and  pounded  along  the 
sleepers.  He  braced  himself  and  held  tight,  as 
the  girl  was  doing— praying,  all  the  while,  that 
tb«  rushing  thing  of  steel  would  not  overturn. 

But  8  forward  wheel  gave  way,  under  the 
strain,  and  the  ear^oor  suddenly  dipped  under 
them,  dipped  and  bowed  until  Hm  ajde  tednd 
against  a  cross-tie  with  a  jolt  that  sent  the  great 
hulk  careening  sideways,  where  it  raised  and 
rolled  over  in  the  yellow  sand,  ponderously,  inr 
dignantly,  like  an  ill-treated  animal. 

MeKfawm  caught  the  girl  as  she  fell  on  liim, 
with  a  sharp  iuA-viringiag  aotka.  Bnt  he 
swung  and  imSM  her  firee  of  ^  ear,  away 
from  the  menace  of  the  toppling  cartridlge- 
boxes.  Then  he  rolled  over  on  his  face,  and 
crawled  to  the  girl's  side,  on  all  fours,  with  the 
grit  of  yellow  sand  between  his  teeth  and  the 
Qbokiaff  mart  of  the  dust-dond  still  in  his  gasp. 
hag  lunga. 


1 


OHAPTEB  XXXI 


TBI  LAIS  BOn 

McKinnok's  fall  seemed  to  shock  him  into 
new  life.  The  very  abrnptness  of  his  disaster 
brought  with  it  a  routwed  spprMlatkn  ol 
danger.  His  mii^  became  alert  again,  with  t!i» 
pee^^  alertness  of  febrilitj,  as  though,  like 
the  long-taxed  body,  it  were  cti^pM»  ni 
into  a  sort  ot  second-wind. 

He  realised,  what  had  happened,  for  he 
thinking  clearly  and  qnickly  now.  He  conld 
the  whole  thing,  and  see  it  only  too  welL  De 
Brigard'fl  men  IumI  had  the  foriilioai^  to  li^^ 
fl^  oat  line  <tf  eomminiicatlon  betwwi  CNwalgBl 
and  tiia  ooast  This  mii.  had  been  achieved 
easily  er>ongh,  by  the  mere  uprooting  of  a  few 
lengths  of  track.  He  had  ridden  into  that  open 
trap,  without  thought.  He  had  demanded  too 
much  of  Destim-  Luck  had  at  last  gone  against 
him,  as  it  muf  ^  the  end  go  against  every  man 
who  iniiatB  obl  tuking  hii  rbinota 

^^H8p^^  flftSflifli^i^  ^^^J9p^^  ^^^^  iSit^^  ^S^^fc  ^^is^^  Smi^ 


9BE  LAST  HCm  888 


was  trying  to  save,  under  the  hot  morning  snn 
of  an  open  and  unprotected  conntry.  They 
w«  alnuidad  <m  a  slope  of  yellow  ballast-sand, 
lua  to  witi  a  guerilla  army  that  wo«ld  r»> 
fnse  them  quarter,  under  tha  of  a  ba- 
leagnered  city  that  would  decline  to  admit  them. 
Yes,  he  had  asked  too  much  of  Fate.  There 
was  nothing  left  to  him,  now,  but  to  ^t  it  out, 
fight  it  out  to  a  finish. 
The  next  clearly  defined  thought  that  came  to 
wm  that  bo  waa  burning  with  thirst.  Be- 
fbfo  evorytiifaig  riaa,  be  Idl,  bo  mat  bavo  watar. 
And  there  remained  only  one  hope  of  wmUr. 
That  was  the  little  stream  two  hundred  yarda 
behind  them,  the  flashing  little  ribbon  of  blue 
over  which  De  Brigard'a  men  woold  be  awarm- 
ing  at  any  moment 

Tbora  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  BSs  first  task 
if«t  to  mA*  Ma  wiqr  to  that  ilnom  and  bMk— 
to  fight  his  way  tboraaad  back,  if  aaadba.  Sa 
oould  not  hold  out,  he  knew,  witiiout  water. 

He  dodged  and  peered  and  groped  about  tho 
overturned  oar,  in  feverish  search  for  anything 
that  would  hold  water.  That  hurried  search 
teemed  a  hopeless  one,  until  his  eyes  fell  on  a 
itttarad  gisoHno-eaii  of  galvanised  tin,  stowed 
tmrmdmtiimmMMmm.  Ho  got  Am  aowivw 
top  off  its  cover,  in  some  ntft  tmA  M  Hi  mm^ 


884  THl  LAST  HOPB 


about  the  car  again.  The  moment  he  did  so 
the  Bhaip»  eomplaliiing  pinnnnng  of  a  bidkt 
sounded  ckwe  ovwr  his  head.  It  had  eoma  fron 

the  west,  from  Ouariqai.  Before  he  conld  dodge 
in  nnder  the  far  side  of  the  car-body  it  was  re- 
peated, again,  and  still  again.  One  of  Dnran's 
own  men,  he  knew,  was  picking  a^  him  from  a 

housetop. 

He  fonnd  the  girl,  as  he  dodged  back  into 
shelter,  dtting  against  the  floor  of  Oo  over* 
tnmed  ear.  Her  f aee  was  ttdonrtess,  «id  lier 

eyes  unnaturally  large. 

"Is  this  the  endf"  she  asked,  as  he  caught 
up  one  of  the  carbines  half-smothered  in  sand 
at  her  feet. 

"The  end?"  he  cried.  "No,  it's  not  the 

"What  eaa  I  dot*'  aM. 

"We've  got  to  have  water — and  I'm  going  to 
get  it !  Keep  close  to  that  car  until  I  get  baekl" 

"But  they'll  cut  you  off;  they'll  " 

He  had  not  waited  to  hear  her.  He  was  run- 
ning out  across  the  open  and  undulating  ground, 
bending  low  as  he  ran.  She  could  easily  fol- 
low Us  moving  black  shadow,  ia  ^  i^are  «f 
^  open  smUli^t  She  haaid  a  loaHiring  of 
rifle-shots  further  eastward  as  ha  erossed  a 
stretch  of  higher  ground.  Then  she  saw  him 
drop  to  his  ksea.  Her  first  thonf^t  was  tiial 


XH£  LAST  HOP£  885 


he  iru  wmmdtd.  But  the  next  mcm&at  aho  b«- 
held  him  bring  hii  rifle  into  aelicHi,  aacl  Ami  mil 
forward,  and  repeat  tue  movemeat,  and  igidii 
run  forward.  Then  he  ducked  lower,  and  rose 
again,  and  suddenly  dropped  down  into  the  bed 
of  the  creek,  completely  out  of  sight. 

He  remained  there  for  what  seemed  an  inter- 
miaebk  loigtli  of  time  to  her.  The  vioioiis 
snaiiiiiBg  and  popping  of  tiie  distant  gnns  erqit 
ominously  closer,  second  by  second.  They 
would  be  on  him,  she  felt,  before  he  could  es- 
cape. They  would  cut  him  off  before  he  ooold 
even  climb  from  the  creek-bed. 

Then,  in  the  clear  light,  she  saw  his  head 
e&Mfge.  She  caught  sight  of  him  worming  cau- 
tioady  badr,  Mging  and  toaa^ag  into  eadi 
land-depression.  The  gnn<(ribots  began  agaln» 
until  they  became  a  rhythm  of  hoUow  ffmnyf, 
like  quick  and  impatient  hammer-pounds  on  a 
plank.  She  saw  that  he  was  wet  to  the  knees, 
and  breathing  hard,  as  he  stumbled  back  to  the 
ear. 

^IRian,  at  die  law  tbe  irrt  and  dripping  can, 
all  lier  being  was  centred  <»i  the  thooi^t  et  her 
own  thirst,  of  how  her  dry  throat  ached  and 
throbbed  for  water.  She  scarcely  noticed  that 
the  firing  had  ceased,  that  the  line  of  skulking 
and  scattered  figures  had  fallen  mysteriously 
ftWftjr.  She  only  knew  that  McKinnon  had 


336  THE  LAST  HOPB 

dropped  that  predons  water-can  in  front  of  her. 

The  next  moment  he  was  hanling  and  tearing 
at  the  overtnmed  cartridge-boxes.  At  first,  as 
she  looked  np  and  saw  his  hollow  and  exultant 
eyes,  she  thought  he  had  lost  hia  nMOO,  tlM^ 
pain  and  fatigne  aad  hmigw  faid  kit  Ite  bop»- 
lessly  mad.  But  at  ike  watched  hit  ilnmlH 
she  knew  fhare  was  a  method  in  them. 

For  he  was  dragging  and  hauling  the  heavy 
i/./xes  into  a  line  directly  before  the  overturned 
car.  Then,  with  a  railway-spike  and  a  musket- 
end,  he  pried  the  tops  from  those  boxea  wbiflb 
came  moat  vMKffily  apart,  and  poured  iia  irott 
and  eartrkigea  oBt^  hi  OM  heap.  Tbnbafnf 
the  end  of  a  brokoi  ear-atep  to  the  girl. 

"Quick!"  he  commanded,  kicking  a  Imk 
towards  her.  "Pill  these  with  sand!" 

She  did  as  he  ordered,  scooping  up  the  yel- 
low sand  with  the  fragment  of  flat  iron,  while 
ha  dragged  moft  cartridfe-boma  tnm  Um  mst- 
wnek  Old  h^t  wp  a  Httla  three-ridad  wafl 
about  the  spot  where  she  dug.  His  movements, 
at  times,  took  him  beyond  the  bulwark  of  tha 
overturned  car,  and  each  time  he  thus  exposed 
himself  the  man  from  the  Guariqui  housetop 
sniped  at  him,  calmly  and  viciously. 

"This  ia  our  only  efaauM^"  ha  korriadly  ez* 
I^ainsd,  as  he  ducked  irritably  baek  out  of  iia 
•bH  tninrfd  saA  ^mkd  and  lifted  at  Ml  tlOilOl. 


"Our  chance  for  whatf*  ihe  aaksd,  at  iha 

*orkecL 

"For  holding  ont- for  keeping  them  back— 
lor  iaviag  titft  amnumltioii  for  Qnariqnir' 

He  was  now  taking  the  boxaa  aa  alia  ffiM 
them,  and  piling  them  ooa  abora  tha  otfm  ob 
fha  outside  of  his  rooghlj  bnilt  waB,  aa  aa 
armour-belt  protection  for  his  serried  cartridge- 
cases.  He  was  afraid  of  what  a  bullet  at  dose 
range  might  do  to  those  cartridges.  And  all 
the  while,  slowly  and  methodically,  the  Guariqui 
sharpshooter  was  picking  at  him,  as  he  showad 
himself  outside  the  shadow  of  the  car-wreck. 

"We  can  hold  them  off,  I  tell  you!"  McKin- 
9/m  w»a  aamlting,  as  ha  left  a  narrow  embrasure 
in  his  ttoa-fool  battimaant,  by  pushing  two  of 
the  boiee  a  few  iaOm  apart  "Wa"?!  gel  a 
fort  here  I  We're  aa  safe  as  Ouariqui  iai  flMf 
can't  get  in  behind  us,  because  Ulloa's  men  are 
waiting  there,  and  they  know  it  I  They've  got 
to  eome  at  us  from  the  frost  I  And  we're  safe 
bitodtMi  tt'aaaiafaasastone  wall!  And 
wa*fa  got  amnmnitioB  a  ton  of  it,  if  wa  naad 
It!" 

He  was  hauling  at  mm  if  tta  ban, 

ing  his  side-walla  now. 

One  of  the  Quariqui  sharpshooter's  bullets 
^^linad  in  over  his  head,  within  a  foot  of  whaia 


338  THE  LAST  HOPE 

ha  worked.  He  swung  about  and  shook  his  flit 
ftt  his  unseen  enemy,  irritably,  impotentty. 

"You  fool!'*  he  cried.  "You  fool  I— waiting 
powder  on  the  people  wlio*r«  tryin*  to  m9% 
yon!" 

<*We  eant  wtsf  them  I"  laSd  the  woman,  gray 
with  dust,  weak  with  hunger,  sick  with  fear. 
But  she  worked  on,  mechanically,  doggedly. 

"We've  got  to!'*  exulted  McKinnon,  as  he 
took  the  last  box  of  sand  from  her.  "We've 
got  to  hold  out  until  the  Prmoetim  UaadB  litr 
menaiidgetafliemiipiiitotiiebillahefel  It's 
itei^aiiuitter  of  timet  We  can  hold  out  here 
MweUasinOuariquit  We're  lafe  lien t  Aad 
we've  got  water!" 
"But  no  food!"  she  said. 
"Wait!"  he  cried  again.  "The  dhooolatet 
And  the  milk-tablets!  It'senoughl  JkoAhm*9 
brandy,  iee-4ialf  a  cupful  ef  Imafy  USiV* 
"Bat  how  knif  will  tiuit  iMtr* 
"It  will  last  as  long  as  we  need  it— until 
nightfall,  anyway!"  he  declared,  as  he  crawled 
back  to  the  car  and  dragged  the  remaining  rifle 
out  from  under  the  fallen  boxes. 
"But  if  the  Princeton's  men  are  not  htn  1^, 

nightt"  she  aaked. 
He  iMBed  to  itMBt  ter  aoto  el  kopikiniiii. 

"flhifwill  be  here  by  night!  TheyVe^olto 

\mhml  SlMgr  ahodd  be  aft  Powto  IiooQBte 


TBB  LAST  HOPS  9» 


If  ihr»  tiiis  aftemooB.  They'll  eomiiuuideer  a 
IMt  OoooMB  loeoraettv*  Ikom  tiw  romidhoiue 
there,  and  bt  iq)  litra     imiget-Mm  ioi- 

setl" 

She  forced  henalf  to  believe  him.  Shaatniff- 
gled  to  oateh  at  tarn  ihadow  «f  Ua  liopafiil. 
ness. 

"Then  what  more  must  I  do,  to  helpt"  she 
asked,  very  quietly.  He  was  peering  oat  orer 
the  rolling  and  sun-steeped  plain. 

**Eat— we  must  eat  before  those  devils  start 
ted:  al  iial"  he  said,  as  he  caught  up  the  can 
of  gaaoHat-tainted  water  and  gulped  at  it,  sav- 
agily,  for  ^  an  Ibgr  ^  tea  waa  cnieUy  hot 
overhead.  Then  ha  dragged  o«t  Ua  brandy- 
flask,  diluted  ita  eootoitBy  and  mada  flM  M 
drink  from  it 

"If  that  fool  back  there  *d  only  stop  wasting 
powderl"  he  cried,  as  a  bullet  splattered 
agaiaat  a  ear-whad  behind  them.  "They  won't 
VidantaBd  ^  wa  ara,  back  there,  until  they 
sae  Da  Brigard*i  men  aoaili^r  in  dotar 
closer,  or  trying  to  rush  as.  They  woat  kaow 
we're  friends  until  tbaf  IM  11a  hMag  tiiat 
guerilla  mob  " 

"It  can't  be  long  now,"  said  the  girl,  blink- 
Q^  acroga  the  sun-steeped  plain,  where,  in 
w»  ^ttte^  ras^tt  brown  figures  could  be 


diO  THE  LAST  HOPS 


■MO  0O06  more  movfBtg  ncl  ditpernng  and  MB* 
oealing  themselves  along  the  luid-dipi. 

"Then  we  most  eat,  before  they  come,"  he 
answered,  putting  the  broken  and  ommpled 
pieces  of  army-chocolate  out  baliftwi  IfcMi* 
Th«  Bdlk-taUfts  lit  decided  to  for  a  ioooQd 
maal  Than  he  loaded  the  riflia,  (lai  1^  them 
ont  ready,  and  placed  the  three  revolvers  on  a 
box-top,  with  hia  pocketful  of  cartridgea  doaa 
beside  them. 

And  they  sat  there  on  the  yellow  sand  of  their 
little  rifle-pit,  breakfasting  on  brandy-aaa- 
water  and  wumrnAmmd  cfaoe^ta,  ttlT 
waited  for  the  enamy  to  eooaa  np. 


GHAPT£B  XZXn 


Alicia  was  busy  tying  a  strip  of  Uimb  skirt 
into  a  cap  for  McKiimon's  head,  to  protect  Urn 
from  the  sun,  when  the  firing  began  again. 

It  was  not  general,  at  first  It  was  more  the 
^•niodto  md  desnltory  pUmcato  of  sonnd 
^nSAimmt  itm  wmmm  of  the  waiting 
oraheetn.  »  began  qid«lijr, «.  a  rtom  begins, 
yet  there  seemed  Uttle  that  was  Aiat«nw  idM 
it  The  listening  girl  wondered,  as  De  Bri- 
gard's  ontposts  worked  their  way  closer  and 
Jlosw  in  towards  the  creek-bed,  if  she  had  not 
MinHiUf4BBred  to  the  tomnlt  of  musketry. 

f^mem,  walebfaif  at  tba  embrasnre,  con- 
osded  them  any  imm»f  ^  hj  beyond  liM 
creek-brink.  It  was  wasting  time  aid  pgnlti^ 
he  knew,  to  attempt  to  hold  them  back  from  that 
Uttie  stream-bottom.  He  only  too  poignantly 
the  limitations  of  his  short-barrelled 
nfiat  of  **Belgian  Damascos.''  He  was  not  al- 
tngttiwi  ManitfBar  wm  that  portieolar  make 


m  TBE  LAST  STAND 


of  arm.  They  were  weapons  wfaidi  oaij  to 
often  left  the  detonation  of  thirty  grains  o 
powder  a  peril  and  converted  bullet-trajectorie 
into  a  thing  of  ever-changing  wonder.  But  h 
had  diown  Alida  how  to  reload  each  of  thai 
riflaa.  He  had  alM>  tangbt  bar  the  trkk  of  ^ 
todgiag  a  shell  when  it  jaoBMd— far  aany  o 
^tm  cartridges,  after  fhair  mMi^  wtm  ali] 
damp  and  swollen. 

But  beyond  the  wavering  line  of  that  creel 
bank,  he  deterniined,  no  man  should  advanc 
unchallenged.  Abova  all  things,  he  knew,  h 
ted  to  katp  Ilia  fnaA  dear. 

''It'a  tm  to  one  they  won't  ccHne  at  us  i 
force,**  he  explained  to  the  girl  crouched  at  hi 
knees  in  the  -ifle-pit.  * '  They  wor- '  \  h^o  w  then 
selves  on  us  until  they  know  what  'e  <^arr] 
But  weVe  got  to  stop  that  first  rusl;  i 

It  was  a  minute  or  two  before  she  ^puiu,  fe 
•  flurry  of  boMa  eaaa  i^datling  and  wiiflipa] 
iag  aad  qaavwiat  aloaa  in  over  their  headi 
Ona  or  two,  McKinnon  noticed,  chugged  omix 
ously  against  the  face  of  his  sandnboze?.  Bl 
most  of  them  went  high,  foolishly  liigh. 

''Couldn't  I  get  to  Guariquif "  the  girl  wa 
asking.  "ConldatI— withawhiteflagof  aon 
aorty  to  warn  HMmt'' 

'<Thaaa  davib  'd  nvfar  let  y««  gtt  tnwl 
Utiktm^  JM  il  wowli  do  na  faodi" 


•*WxyV*  Bhe  asked 

hOpitu  in  tbnrv  ....  tht^Vt 
BO  asoMBillioBf*' 

She  oompelM  litndf  to  wlmnm  fwli. 

"B«l  iorely  theyTl  kii«wr  ....  tnOf 
«...  in  time/'  she  mnnmired. 

"Yes,  they*ll  know!"  he  answered,  absently, 
for  his  squinting  eyes  were  on  the  undulating 
■wvep  of  open  ground  ahead  of  him.  He  could 
see  littie  bartf  ootad  man  in  ragged  denim  uni- 
forma,  enepfaig  mi  nanfag  fnm  hOm  to 
hollow,  spreading  out  in  an  irregnlar  ]ia%  iia 
the  fan-edge  of  a  hrmMag  iide-swell. 

'♦They're  coming  ....  keep  low!"  h* 
said.  And  as  he  spoke  he  sighted  and  fired. 

response  to  that  first  fire  of  his  was 
proBqst,  abiiMt  inatuitaiMoas.  It  brought  a 
staady  crescendo  dMitr  «|  nimiMl  mi  m  pallir 
an^.  thrdb  of  IMi  agalwt  the  pit-froirt. 

McKinnon  swung  the  emptied  rifle  back  into 
the  hands  of  the  waiting  girl  and  caught  l^tte 
mate,  with  one  movement  of  his  body. 

Mb  was  firing  calmly  and  ddiberately  now, 
w^Mtg  l»  «Mb  iqpf^mst  shoulder  and  ad- 

WflfaHT  iMlrf  M  It  VOM  «iofO  Ot  ^  if 

«8ik-bott<an. 

^en  the  heads  began  to  show  thickor  tad 
faster,  and  it  left  him  no  time  for  delibt>mtitt. 
He  pnmiMd  the  hmr  and  fired  until  ^  um 


M  TSB  LAST  ST  AND 


ached.  He  ohoie  liis  man  aad  emptied  Uf  ibtll 
VBtil  the  powder-emcte  koaff  Hiiek  aad  aerid 
abovt  flM  fittia  rifle-pit,  until  his  face  was 
atreaked  and  amntted  with  it,  bb  though  it  had 
been  lampblacked.  He  fired  until  his  eyes 
smarted  with  the  drifting  fumes  and  his  lungs 
ached  with  their  stench.  He  fired  until  a  sicken- 
ing smell  of  scorching  oil  roat  from  wML 
of  his  rifles  and  the  empty  did]alitl«r<td|  tlMpH- 

bottom. 

But  in  the  end  he  held  the  dodging  and  shift- 
ing little  denim-clad  figures  in  check,  puzssled 
by  the  fury  of  his  fire.  He  swept  his  appointed 
ground  clear.  He  allowed  no  worming  and 
skulking  rifleman  to  adyaaoa  t#^r  pMM 
btjood  tib§  avtA4M^L 

Tb^  draw  baek  vadar  coyer,  bewilderad, 
wondering  how  many  maa  that  overturned  cai 
could  have  held.  The  staccato  of  sound  dwin- 
dled down  to  a  sulky  and  intermittent  dribble 
of  reports.  McKinnon  saw  it,  with  a  shout  d 
gratitude,  for  he  knew  that  ha  had  raaahad  Ui 
vtaDOflt  Hw^^ 

Ba  ■tiggiTad  bade  to  goly  dflfva  gitit  iwal 
lows  of  tepid  water  f  ran  tha  gaeoline-can  whicl 
the  girl  was  holding  up  for  him.  Then  h< 
helped  bar  reload,  and  waited  for  tha  laoka 
toUft 

**Have  they  gonet'*  iba  aakad. 


3SB  Xim  0iAm  m 

**No,'»  told  as  he  swung  ap  to  his 
cmbranmsitiB.  "Bat  tlwyVt  found  out  just 
what  they've  got  to  faoeI»» 

"What  wUl  they  dot** 

"It  looks  as  though  they're  going  to  try  dif- 
ferent tactics  now.  They»U  take  their  time, 
after  this,  and  try  to  grill  us  out.  Don't  give 
way,plMMoI  Don't  imagine— 

But  ^  dBd  BGl  tti^  to  Adah,  for  ho  braced 
hia  smoke-blackened  shoaldOTt  and  ted,  tad 
peered  forward,  and  fired  again,  and  ilill  apOa. 

"They  think  they  can  dishearten  now, 
with  sniping,"  he  told  her.  " It 'U  be  a  waiting 
game,  I'm  afraid  .  •  •  «  but  you  maatnt 
givo  wtifV* 

and  wor- 
ried hmi.  But  wM  WM  dialBibiiig  hkiaoia 
was  the  thought  ttet  they  might  at  teo 

bring  up  a  ileliHpi,  Mid  iMi  kia  faMt  Md  oidj 

hope. 

It  waa  this  fear  that  dung  to  him,  and  took 
tko  marrow  out  of  his  courage,  and  made  the 
long,  kot  hmn  of  miiMaj  mm  purgatorial  in 
their  endlessneaa.  M  ilfi  ke  waldnd  aad 
sighted  and  fired,  and  reloaded,  and  fired  afufa* 
grimly,  doggedly,  pertinaciously,  giving  tel  a 
counter-chaUmiKi  for  oviij  okaUeapa  ^tntj  SMt 
in  to  him. 

Tkon  mid-day  lengthened  into  aftemoon,  and 


m  THE  LAST  S3?AMD 


A  dintirhim  wrnlnifni  dmoindod  upm  libD.  So 
be  leo&ed  agiiMt  kk  c—liMro  Mi  dNVti 

milk-tablete,  aiii  fni  i^n  mw  a  nun^ 
shadow  to  target  into,  or  •  tlmateniiig  gun- 
arm  to  aim  at,  and  made  the  white-faced  girl 
eat  her  portion  of  the  milk-tablets  and  drink 
the  last  of  the  brandy-and-water. 

And  as  he  watched  the  af  temooa  grew  <dd«r, 
and  the  son  iwnag  lowwr  €hMtriqni  B«t 
ttlil  be  ired  and  reloaded  and  wondered  if  the 
Princeton  had  steamed  into  Puerto  LocombiSy 
and  silently  and  devoutly  prayed  for  help. 

Then  all  thought  of  prayer  went  from  his 
mind,  for  his  squinting  eyes  had  fallen  on  what 
looked  like  a  salt-barrel  as  it  aiqpeared  om 
Uie  bfiidc  of  tbo  onA^taMifc^  ft  hi&fowKK  w> 
lofhii^ir  Ifaing  of  staves  mi  ktopi. 

IMCinnon  watdied  this  barrel,  in  wonder,  for 
it  seemed  to  shift  about  by  itself.  Then  it  be- 
gan to  roll  slowly  forward.  It  advaneed 
towards  the  rifle-pit,  inch  by  inch,  propelled  by 
no  visible  haoian  haad.  It  moved  ooaieroBsly 
oMwd,  toot  by  imitp  ••  §mw§h  Miii  iiWi  m 
dowoi  fliii  ilHI  MMMiBli  plMf  if  iHH» 
tion. 

Then  it  came  to  a  stop,  on  a  barren  "hog- 
back,'' high  above  the  ground  that  surrounded 
it.  Bill  even  before  tbe  betraying  bladk  ftiger  of 
i  fi§0ami  «j^peared  esfttiousiy  and  ^ieiil^  above 


TSE  LAST  STAND 


347 


one  corner  of  it,  McKinnon  knew  it  was  a  blind, 
a  moving  shelter.  He  knew  it  was  a  barrel  filled 
with  Mad,  a  ronglily  improvised  ambuscade 
kti^f  pwMI  iorwni  hj  mat  faitrepid  sharp- 
shooter from  De  Bi%n«|% 

The  man  in  the  rifle-pit  nirtrind  tiai  teml, 
nneasily,  frowningly,  firing  malidonsly  at  it, 
from  time  to  time,  as  it  advanced  and  stopped 
and  delivered  its  whistling  challenge  of  lead 
^  »*U1  again  erawted  onward.  It  seemed  a 
^  fwr  aMl  kai%  Wn  toma  vanomona  and 
loathsome  dinamiilay  nptSa  «HMnd  againil 
attack.  Then  <i»  awm  watching  it  nhoeiad  iiM» 
self  to  calmness,  and  fired  more  delibanitelf; 
studying  his  sight  and  mge  and  trajectory, 
feeling  his  way  about  that  incongmons  aad  rep- 
iSMam  taany  with  a  biasing  antenna  of  lead. 

^H^fli  At  liiMBi  Aowed  again  McKinnon 

ftfvd,  at         «d  liftta^  M  biAm,  b8t 

thia  tune  three  inches  to  Oa  >%H  af 

«d  and  the  fraction  of  an  inch  lower. 

He  had  the  satiafaotion  of  beholding  a  pair 
of  hands  thrown  np  in  the  air,  wide  apart,  and 
af  knowMg  that  the  rifle  had  faU«i  to  the 
ffMiii^^^^       ^t  then  was  no  8%a.  But 

Ihen,  as  he  watoiii  «Mi         api^  ht 

caught  sig^t  of  a  figore  on  hnisntMWI,  tMbig 


m  THl  LAST  9f  AMD 


erly  edge  of  De  Brigard's  camp  to  the  higber 
itretoh  of  the  creek-bank.  He  saw  the  hone- 
man  stop,  gesticnlatei  and  apparently  gif* 
ordan.  Tliffi  ha  ivnag  AmA  agaia,  and  flif>> 
^dontofdi^  Bst  five  minatee  after  he  had 
dMM  io  a  aeaoad  line  of  infantry  d^tonred  from 
the  coppicG-Bcreened  fringes  of  the  camp  and 
crept  in  towards  the  men  who  had  earlier  in  the 
day  taken  their  position  along  the  creek-bed. 
Each  man,  McKinnon  saw,  carriad  a  rifla.  AmA 
agak  ha  widaNd  if  ll»  MmiIm  iMd  latflM 
Pmrto  Loaoi^,  and  again  1m  secretly  aad 
desperately  prayed  that  help  would  still  coma 
to  them.  Then  he  called  to  the  girl  at  his  side. 

<«The:^*re  going  to  try  to  msh  ns!"  he  ex- 
plained to  her,  very  qnietly.  Bnt  he  foond  It 
hard  to  say  to  her  just  what  ha  wantad  to  M^. 

••0§A  thiyf*'  iha  aiMi  her  taSA  fm  lte» 
wtfWf  waa  Mhril  asad  wMUMidb^^ 

« Well,  tilqr^  fir  f«r  itr  was  all  ha  had  fha 

heart  to  say,  as  ha  awioif  Ui  nioadtd  ilBt  ip 

to  the  dusty  wall-top. 

He  did  not  speak  again,  for  thara  waa  no  tima 
for  it  He  was  firing  now,  qnicUy  and  yat  dia- 
passionately.  Ha  aaoght  up  ona  gun  altar  tka 
ofttr  and  pemd  hia  iM  hrta  tha  AiMiW  Mi 
adnoMing  shadows  ont  01^  with  eameo-lika 
deamess  in  the  fnll  afternoon  snnligbt.  Ha 
kept  firing,  f averishly,  and  yat  almoat  nnwa 


oeraedlj,  until  the  magazineB  were  emptied  and 
the  barrels  were  too  hot  to  hold.  Bat  he  oonld 
no  longer  keep  his  ground  clear.  They  were  at 
last  daaring  the  ereek-bank,  dearing  it  in 
•wanBi*  HuRj  tpira  flnal^  ofmHMfaBiQg 
to  ihatf  few  of  ttWB^iffa. 

Powdn^amcdn  mrdoped  him.  Dost  and 
splinters  fitir  about  him.  Bmiitli  of  swMkt  na 
down  his  lean  and  grimy  Imo.  But  still  he  kept 
firing,  faster  and  faster,  ponring  his  lead  into 
the  advancing  line  in  a  f  rensy  of  hopelessness. 

Then  one  of  the  gnns  jammed,  irretrievably. 
He  caught  np  the  other,  and  emptied  it,  until 
the  overheated  steel  scorched  his  shaking  hand. 
But  ttill  tho  ragged  and  shonting  line  came  on, 
WMhoohtd.  Btteiaothingbal&tfwolfvitto 
laUbadroa.  80  ho  auUM  tten  aai  oImI 

np  to  it,  breast-Ui^abifMteaMitaiMBpvt 

to  front  of  him. 

"CcF^e  on,  yon  cowards  he  exalted,  drank- 
only,  reelmgly,  as  he  faced  and  watched  the 
spitting  and  snapping  and  ever-advancing  lino» 
lor  bo  kMW  it  WM  Am  and.  Thoa  the  gifl 
i^fogpil  Mm  down,  nbOo  dio  ftioodod,  mi 
eaaght  ap  the  third  revolver  and  stood  at  his 
iido^  with  her  btiMi  ojriaol  m  winbi  hliihwul 
oartridge-boz. 

<<Ift'atht«idr'hoMi4 


880  TBEhkmWSASm 


**1  know  I"  she  answered,  moving  doser,  lo 
flitllMr  body  toMlMi  klk 

Bal«ht  Hm  sho  tooind  ost  OB  wm  b0| 
same  line  that  McEinnon  had  last  seen.  It  had 
shifted  and  wheeled,  in  an  inexplicable  side- 
movement.  It  had  orompled  and  twisted  up  on 
itself,  like  leaves  capg^i  and  tossed  in  a  wind- 
eddy. 

Tbn  a  ery  Imnt  from  h«r  throat,  a  ory  of 
dMtr  joy,  nd  Aa  eaai^  at  Magfrnwal 

**LoAV*  she  said,  with  a  sob. 

For  swinging  about  the  track-curve  were  two 
flat-cars.  Mounted  on  these  cars  she  oonld  see 
glimmering  and  bnmished  macfaine-gons.  And 
behind  these  gons  stood  cheering  and  shonting 
blii^jadwta,  stabbing  the  air  with  adder-lika 
taigiMB  of  fltBM  aa  ^  ipimiiag  efaafldbett  wwe 
cHadiarged  aad  the  puffing  looonattwi  p«lMd 
thMB  slowly  upward  along  the  narrow  track. 

They  seemed  little  more  than  boys,  those 
quick-moving  and  bright-eyed  jackies.  They 
were  shouting  with  the  foolish  joy  and  pride  Ot 
youth  at  the  thought  of  its  first  biq^itism  of  ftra. 
TkKf  teeoad  Hhe  an  exen^B  of  nadflMa  la 
MaKhwMW,  He  wimdered  wbi^  iSmf  meant, 
idMra  they  came  from.  But  he  could  not  give 
them  much  thought.  He  had  other  things  to 
think  of-— for  a  wounded  Locombian,  a  little 
brown-faced  donon  with  a  long-barrelled  magi^ 


wm  cnnrfiMf  toimrds  him  on  a 
brolMitt|gk,«i^|wMoltMiMflnM.  Aad 

McEinnon  knew  he  had  to  hold  Hitt  bmi  ofl^ 
and  it  worried  him  to  think  that  he  had  only  • 
revolver  to  do  it  with.  But  he  fired  and  re- 
loaded and  fired,  leaning  out  over  his  wall-top 
and  hnrling  half-delirioui  imprecations  into  the 
anuMmfalr.  Be  foni^  on,  to  the  last,  like 
aiBttteateMB.  ikB Ite iPMdd,  to bto, had 
hmmm  a  chaotic  pit  of  coalMilif  ipjitli  nio 
damoured  for  his  blood. 

Then  he  was  stirred  and  disturbed  by  the  sod- 
den scream  of  the  girl  at  his  side.  Her  voice 
seemed  to  come  from  a  great  distance;  it  smote 
•B  Hi  atr  thinly,  as  though  heard  throu^  a 
way. 

*'You're  wounded!"  ribt  efkd.  Middy, 
hysterically.  He  teM  it,  irflgbreBtly,  aai 

wondered  ^y  he  was  no  longer  standing  be- 
side his  cartridge-boxes.  He  saw  her  white  and 
amoke-stiaaked  faoe  bent  over  his  arm  and 
kilid  hm  repeated  cry  of  alarm  as  she  tore 

were  wtt,  ami  4MM«d  If  ^ter. 

knew  that  she  wns  tearing  B&me  part  of  hut 
dress,  that  she  was  blading  and  twisting  a  strip 
of  linen  about  his  an^,  somMriMfa  Mmr  tha 
kfk  shoolder. 


8te  tiHitod  and  U^AiMd  il  onMBf  t  M  i* 
WM  «M  «MI  to  MfM  wMli  Iwr  ahmit  it  He 

it wnM  be  best  to  hmnonr  her;  the  had  had 
to  endnre  to  miich  for  him.  And  it  was  rather 
pleasant,  he  told  himself,  having  her  fussing 
about  him  that  way.  But  he  wished  she 
wouldn't  cry  and  shake,  and  that  he  could  ex- 
plain to  her  hownoflii  be  waiitad  to  go  to  atofj^ 
TbiB  hi  waa  foaaed  by  aMfa  ^avla  aad  ories, 
aad  by  a  voice  quite  close  to  him,  which  said. 
In  wonder:  **Good  God,  he's  a  white  manl*' 
Then  came  more  men,  and  A  sudden  older  ta^ 
someone  to  stand  bade 

McKinnon  opened  his  eyes,  wearily,  and  saw 
a  yellow-faced  stranger  witb  ft  pafaKted  gray 
beard.  I[ewmavBifHB]9ieaaeAoir'8,aad 
carried  a  sword  from  a  red  silk  aaib,  a  laoHib 
and  womanish-looking  sash.  Then  came  other 
men  and  other  officers,  and  a  thin  and  far-away 
babbling  of  voices,  till  the  yellow  sand  where 
the  car  lay  changed  into  a  lake  of  swarming  and 
crowding  human  bdngs,  into  a  atft  of  Httle 
toewB  fiiwad  juwurfBy-jasba  ipfaa  iteirtiA  attd 
eastorted  and  flung  foolish  little  red-striped 
anny-caps  up  in  the  air,  gibbering  and  arguing 
and  calling,  all  the  while,  in  iona  oatlftliiah 
and  inconprehensible  tongue. 

McKinnon  neither  knew  nor  oared  ^iiat  il 
meant  He  only  wanted  to  get  luuiawbiil 


i^MVi  H  wu  qniet,  where  he  could  rest  in  peaoe. 
fhn  the  aoiM  gmr  louder  again,  and  a  shout- 
lag  and  ehetfiaf  eolBBUi  of  Miwjafliwie  ewnf 
up,  followed  by  a  ewaraij-ihfanMd  kmi  of 

horsemen,  with  carbines,  on  praneing  littio 
Peruvian  ponies.  McKinnon  could  see  that 
they  were  tearing  his  boxes  open,  that  they  wero 
carrying  nway  his  precious  ammunition. 

lie  tried  to  light  against  them,  but  he  found 
Umself  held  dowa,  and  through  the  driftinf 
sand-dust  he  saw  AUcla's  rMt%  foot  best  low 
over  him.  Then  somebudy  illed  out  angrily: 
"Stand  back  there!  BaiVl'»  and  a  huge  hairy 
white  hand  tried  to  choke  the  breath  of  life  out 
ofto  body  by  pouring  what  seemed  liquid  fire 
dow  Ua  tkroat,  fW«i  a  leather-covered  flask. 
TUa  fadt  waa  qoiddy  aad  MdfuUy  knocked 
to  one  sid%  by  aa  aagiy^Mtd  mtm  iriittt 
duck,  who  wore  spectacles  and  said  in  poritet 
English:  "Get  the  poor  beggar  into  a  fiacre^ 
Then  there  was  the  repeated  cry  of  "Stand 
back!"  and  "To  the  Hospitall"  and  "No;  to 
tia  FilaooP'  and  the  next  moment  hands  were 
bMdbf  Itfting  at  hli  tortured  body.  He 
felt,  at  times,  that  a  woam  waa  weeping  aono- 
where  beside  him.  But  he  could  not  be  sure  of 
this.  He  heard  a  thin  and  ghostlike  pound  of 
hoofs  and  a  rumble  of  wheels.  Aad  *Ht  waa 
aU  he  could  roimnber. 


ebafteb: 


m  LAn  worn 

MoKunroir  was  very  happy.  It  waa  dx  long 
days  ainoe  they  had  dug  tha  boUat  oirt  al  Ua 
am  and  told  Mm  to  Ua  qnict  for  a  wWla  and 
laat  vp  and  maka  blood.  Bnt  on  this  partiao,- 
lar  morning  President  Dnran's  own  glimmer- 
ing state-coach  had  carried  hun  away  from  the 
Hospital,  and  he  had  been  given  prompt  and 
official  permission  to  go  to  the  Palaoa  roof, 
where  Aikens,  the  Boston  yonth  i^ko  mM  m 
thaG«ariqni  operalof ,  waa  alffl  alragi^Mff  ofW 
Ua  balf-rancyfaiid  witaliia  apparatus. 

So  MoKinnon  had  been  carried  to  the  roof  in 
a  ohair,  by  two  of  Duran*s  own  body-guard,  and 
fha  white  snnlight  and  the  many-tinted  city  and 
the  companionship  of  the  lonely  and  garroloiu 
boy  from  Boston  went  to  his  head,  Uka  wiaa,  aai 
left  him  f ooIiaUy  and  i^^fnlly  happy. 

Ha  IsQ^iad  at  fta  of  a  oormgatad-iroii 
wifdan  atiMoa  an  ^  roof  of  a  Palace;  it 
lotmofi  as  iaeosgntons  to  him,  ha  told  JUkana, 


XHBIiiSSWOBD  m 

M  «  Ctaiider  imokiat  a  PHidbwv  itofit,  or  ft 

monaitery  with  mail^otes,  or  a  Mtlittfral  with 
a  cash-regiater.  Then  Aikeni  led  him  to  the 
hatUemented  edge  of  the  flat  roof  and  thowed 
him  the  arc-lights  that  ewung  in  Avenida  Bac- 
nmnto  and  Calle  Florida,  and  the  new  power- 
hooM  towwd  Pkraiio  Hill,  and  the  aUtnary 
that  gleamed  thrombi  tlM  gnm  palmt  of  tlia 
Parque  Nadonal,  aad  the  AaUo  Chapd  aai  Iht 
roof  of  the  new  Boynton  Hospital,  and  tht 
columned  front  of  the  Theatre  Locombio.  Then 
he  drew  himself  np  and  protested  that  Onarifoi 
want  such  a  one-horse  town,  after  all. 

MoKTbiicb  ao^imMd  to  look  down  at  Goari- 
qoi,  after  AfiNM  ted  gOM  Mk  to  lib  woriL 
He  oonld  see  ttt  hron-fenoid  Pfttaea  garrtiM, 
cool  and  shadowy  and  sednded-looking.  In  tiw 
Plasa  beyond  he  conld  see  the  splash  of  water 
from  a  frond-hidden  fountain,  and  the  white 
•totoa  irf  aome  nnknown  hero  who  had  died  in 
MMt  nteoirn  war  for  Looombian  liberty.  He 
ootid  Ma  tta  yoOeir  limi  fli  tta  eaflMdral  and 
the  snn-steeped  Prado  wUto  wlA  dwt.  Be 
conld  see  the  American  bluejackets,  from  tha 
Princeton,  who  were  still  picketing  the  streets, 

and  a  bullock-cart  that  mviad  aoiiily  om  <ha 
cobblestones. 

iUtkabtad  of  Afanida  Sacramento  he  oould 
lit  MoOir  drtwitream  of  iHilta-hehnetftd 


356  THE  LAST  WOBD 

marines  clustered  about  one  of  the  Princeton's 
machine  guns.  He  could  make  out  a  scattered 
group  of  UUoa's  mounted  Irregulars  crawling 
in  toward  Guariqui,  across  the  imdnlatiiig,  flat- 
shadowed  plain  of  hnmt  grass.  He  conld  tee 
rows  of  flat  houses  and  red-tiled  roofs,  and 
tame  buzzards  perched  on  ridge-poles,  and  a 
lonely  and  high-standing  royal  palm  or  two. 
And  beyond  the  sun-bathed  town  and  the  burnt 
plain  lay  the  gray-green  hills  and  the  lonely 
blue  peaks  of  the  Cordilleras. 

Then  the  sound  of  dieering  floated  up  to  him, 
and  to  the  east,  advaadng  along  Calle  Nadonal 
toward  the  Plaza,  was  a  long  line  of  infantry 
headed  by  a  mounted  band  that  broke  into  shrill 
and  stirring  music  as  they  detoured  in  past  the 
turreted  barracks.  He  could  see  the  gathering 
street  crowds,  the  men  in  linen  and  ^atk,  <1» 
bareheaded  women  in  maw'tillaB,  th«  Prmeeton  » 
midshipmen  in  tic^t-fltting  tunics,  pretending 
to  ignore  the  heat,  the  mardiing  lines  of  bare- 
footed  mm  in  gsoteflqnely  Mnled  and  ragged 
nniforms. 

He  knew  that  De  Brigard's  movemwit  had 
been  crushed,  that  the  revolution  was  alrsa^ 
a  thing  of  the  past  Tbtm  was  a  iBMNiidtf^ 
provinee  or  two  on  tha  lower  Padfle  slope,  bol 
a  w«ek  or  two  of  gun-seizing  by  Arturo  Boyn- 
^'a  moa^  polioa  would  a^  all  that  was 


iTHE  LAST  WOED  357 

left  of  Ganley's  coup  d'itak  And  Ganl^j  lum. 
self?  He  knew  that  Ulloa  was  ftiU  patioUiiig 
the  coast  to  cut  oflf  Ganley's  escape.  He  won- 
dered, with  a  strange  sense  of  detachment,  just 
where  between  the  blue  peaks  of  the  Cordilleras 
and  the  Caribbean's  pulsing  surf-line  that  man 
of  destiny  wag  aknUing  and  hiding.  He  won- 
dered  where  xtDder  that  nnpitying  and  high- 
arching  tropical  sky  the  lonely  fugitive  waa  still 
scheming  and  plotting  and  battling  for  his  ulti^ 
mate  prerogative,  for  his  mortal  right  to  live. 

Yes,  it  was  all  over  and  done,  McKinnon  told 
buDself,  wearily,  as  a  comprehension  of  the  soli- 
tudes that  oiisled  him  began  to  creep  like  a 
slowly  rising  tide  thzoni^  every  fSbn  of  his 
being.  They  meant  notMng  to  hun,  these  ont- 
landish  soldiers  in  ragged  uniform,  this  sun- 
baked city  among  its  lonely  hills,  these  denim- 
dad  peons  with  long-bladed  machetes,  these 
red-tiled  homes  of  a  people  who  were  foreign  to 
ISm,  ^  over-gaudy  Latin  palace  with  its 
•eeraid-rate  statoary  and  Its  ^dii«  and  mir- 
rors  that  would  be  an  aftmd  to  a  Hudson  i&wt 
steamboat's  cabin.  It  was  a  land  of  strangws 
to  him.  He  suddenly  knew  that  be  mm  henw- 
sick  for  the  North. 

He  was  possessed  with  a  longing  for  the 
older  and  more  anstere  ways  of  life,  for  more 
tnmqpl  and  m^M  and  orderly  days,  for  the 


358  XH£  LAST  WOBD 


crowded  and  oompanionable  dties  of  Idi  own 
kind.  There  seemed  somethmg  barbaric  to  him 
in  the  very  music  of  the  band  that  brayed  and 
shrilled  from  the  streets  below.  In  the  men 
who  followed  that  band  he  could  make  out  the 
narrow  shoulders  and  the  protruding  cheek- 
bones of  Garib-Indian  blood.  They  seemed 
more  than  oatlanders  to  him ;  they  were  scarcely 
white  men.  And  he  was  tired  of  than  and  thdr 
foolish  little  wars;  he  was  homesick. 

He  heard  a  movement  at  his  side,  and  he 
looked  up  from  the  embrasure  over  which  he 
leaned  to  see  Alicia  Boynton  standing  almost 
within  reach  of  his  hand.  She  seemed  nearly 
C^ost-Uke^  to  his  first  startled  glance,  for  she 
was  dressed  in  iddte  linen,  and  the  things 
through  which  she  had  passed  and  many  days 
and  nights  of  anxiety  had  left  her  face  still 
colourless.  The  strong  sunlight,  too,  accentuated 
the  wistful  little  hollow  that  had  crept  into  her 
cheek.  The  touch  of  tragedy  which  this  shadow 
in  some  way  to  her  f aee  was  eoitradieled, 
though,  by  tile  deep  and  happy  look  in  her  eyes. 

Tet  as  she  stood  there  at  McEinnon's  side 
the  strangeness  and  the  loneliness  of  Guariqui 
seemed  almost  to  fade  away.  She  humanised  it 
and  brought  it  nearer  to  him.  Then  his  eyes 
fell  on  the  figure  of  an  officer  in  full  uniform, 
passing  in  through  the  Palace  gates,  with  his 


THB  LAST  WOBD  3S9 


scabbard  in  his  ganntleted  hand.  He  was  as 
gilded  and  as  ornamental  as  a  character  from  a 
Broadway  musical  comedy.  But  he  served  to 
bring  a  wayward  siizge  of  misery  over  the  eonl 
of  the  American. 

McKinnon  sighed,  openly  and  aadibly.  He 
could  recall,  only  too  easily,  the  beginning  of 
that  vague  unhappiness.  It  had  first  come  to 
birth  in  the  Hospital,  when  General  Alcantara, 
as  Alicia  had  called  him,  accompanied  her  to 
the  bed  in  the  little  bhie-walled  ward.  He  was 
a  dapper  and  dashing  officer,  and  in  ei|^bdniBg 
that  he  had  once  studied  at  West  Point,  AMa 
suggested  that  the  two  of  them  might  have  much 
in  common.  But  McKinnon  had  resented  that 
youthful  officer's  presence  at  her  side,  from  the 
first.  From  the  first,  too,  he  had  despised  the 
over-ready  and  white-toothed  smile,  the  padded 
and  pnnotilioiu  Httle  figure,  the  faws^Mke  eyes 
flf  lAtin  l^rown,  as  soft  as  a  woman's.  Se  had 
even  more  resented  the  panther-like  graee  of  the 
scrupulously  uniformed  little  figure,  and  the 
tropic-bom  cadences  of  the  light-not<)d  and  care- 
fully modulated  voice  as  the  two  oi  them  chat- 
ted and  laughed  together.  It  made  McKinnon 
t|imk  of  himself  aa  awlEwaid  and  ungainly, 
as  raw  and  ranooas  in  his  address  to  women. 
He  had  maintained  the  pretene%  to  himself, 
that  it  did      matter,  that  it  asm  eonld  or 


m  THE  LAST  WOBD 


•would  matter.  Bat  he  knew,  at  last,  that  this 
was  not  true,  that  it  mattered  more  than  he 
dared  admit. 

"You  mustn't  do  this,"  the  girl  was  saying, 
i  eprovingly,  as  she  drew  doeer  beside  him,  to 
that  her  tinted  parasol  threw  its  shadow  over 
his  head. 

*^But  it's  so  good  to  be  out  again,''  he  said. 
"And  they're  giving  UUoa's  Irregolan  an  ova- 
tion down  there." 

"But  you're  not  strong  yet,"  she  warned  him, 
looking  up  into  his  face  with  anxious  eyes. 

"StzoDgl"  ho  laaghed.  "Wl^,  I  fed  Hho  a 
diorthoni  in  from  the  range!'* 

"But  that  it  a  tropoal  ran  yon  am  atand- 
ing  in." 

"It  isn't  the  sun  that  makes  me  feel  so  bad," 
he  confessed.  "It's  being,  so  far  away  front— 
from  home,  from— oh,  frwn  everything  I" 

There  was  a  minnte  or  two  of  dlenoe  as  ihoy 
stood  gating  down  over  GuariqnL 

"I  know,"  she  said  at  last,  comprehendingly. 
H<5  looked  down  at  her,  a  little  surprised  at  the 
humility  in  her  voice.  She  bad  seemed  a  little 
aloof  from  him  during  the  last  few  days;  he 
had  not  been  able  to  gaess  at  the  source  of  that 
alodfoesi.  Onarlqoi  and  its  effieial  Vf o>  he  felt, 
had  fbtag  a  bar  between  thesL  It'  seemed  to 
have  drawn  tmd  shot  her  in  as  one  of  its  own. 


raS  LAST  WOBD  M 


Ha  liad  grown  tlmott  afraid  of  bur,  phiM  tiw 
moniiiig  h»  bad  leeii  her  from  Ina  inadow,  sit- 
ting  up  80  slradnr  and  firagUo  in  Dnran's  fiash- 
ing  official  landau  as  it  swept  out  throni^  the 
Palaoe  gates  surrounded  by  galloping  and  gor- 
geous cuirassiers  with  brazen  breastplates  and 
horsetail  helmets.  And  the  consciousness  of 
this  alienation  brought  a  touch  of  bitterness  into 
his  voice  as  he  went  on. 

"No;  I  don't  believe  you  do  know.  This  is 
the  life  you  were  bom  to.  Hiis  is  your  hmB. 
li  means  everything  to  yonP' 

<*Not  everyttdng/'  she  eonreeled  him,  very 
^{oietfy.*  He  eoold  not  see  her  f aee^  for  she  Wia 
gazing  out  over  Paraiso  HilL 

"But  I  know  you  would  never  be  happy  away 
from  it,  from  everything  here  that  has  been 
making  me  feel  so  lost  and  miserable,  anj  more 
than  I  would  be  happy  away  from  the  things 
that  would  make  you  feel  k>st  and  niserabl«^" 

&m  i^aneed  up  with  a  little  look  of  surprise. 

"I*m  mxk  a  Loeombiaii/'  sha  said,  Umf^  » 
Httle. 

It  was  his  turn  to  lau|^  libongb  thor«  wu 
little  mirth  in  it. 

"No;  but  you  are  the  sister  of  Pr.  Atiwm 
Boynttm,  Minister  of  War  fha  BepnbUe  ^ 
LocMnMa,  Maoiber  of  i»  Ftd«»dp-^" 


m  THE  LAST  WOBD 


She  looked  up  at  hiiii  igain,  and  met  Ids  gaze 
without  hesitatioiL 

''And  yon  are  the  man  who  lared  the  Be- 
public  of  Looianhia  Iromr— well,  yon  know  what 

from  I** 

Hp  ^hrew  up  his  hand  with  a  gesture  of  pro- 
tea* 

'  *  was  thinking  hanged  little  about  the  Be- 
public  of  Looombia,''  he  retorted,  with  his 
dieery  and  companionable  lau|^  **I  wanted 
to  get  you  out  of  that  Oanley  mess.*' 

"Then  you  84    1  me/*  she  protested. 

"When  I  happened  as  a  primary  considera- 
tion to  be  fighting  to  save  my  own  predoos 
neck!''  he  deprecated. 

He  noticed  the  silent  reproof  in  her  eyes,  and 
as  he  saw  it  a  new  courage  began  to  grope  up- 
ward out  of  the  darkness  of  his  f  ^arf.  He 
thought,  a  little  enviously,  of  the  dd;^'  '  i  she 
had  been  so  close  to  him,  when  the  hi.  i\o  in- 
tervening convention  had  stretched  out  between 
them.  Then  he  thought  of  the  blood  and  dust 
and  grime  of  his  battle,  of  the  blood  and  dust 
and  grime  lay  over  so  many  of  his  years. 
And  all  his  Hfe  raddenly  seemed  an  mcpty  and 
aimless  and  wasted  life  to  him.  It  seemed  an 
affront  to  her,  even  to  tell  her  how  unworthy 
he  was,  yet  the  growing  hunger  and  ache  in  his 
heart  forbade  him  to  keep  silent  He  watched 


THE  LAST  WOBD  m 


a  condor  wheeling  above  the  gray-green  hill- 
tops until  it  became  a  drifting  black  speck  in 
the  turquoise  sky. 

The  glare  of  open  light  made  hia  ejea  adie. 
He  remembered  a  certain  sentence  of  Ganley'at 
"It's  not  what  you*d  call  a  white  man's 
country."  The  thought  of  that  brought  his 
troubled  gaze  back  to  the  woman  at  his  side. 

"Have  you  always  been  happy  here!"  he  de- 
manded, audaciously. 

*'Are  we  ever  aheoffs  happyf'  she  aaked, 
after  a  silenoe. 

**But  1o  you  expect  to  be  happy,  hxnnaniy 
happy,  ht  *e?" 

She  shook  her  head,  slowly,  from  side  to  side. 

"Not  now,"  she  aiSswered. 

Again  a  mocking  flame  of  hope  shot  through 
him.  But  he  did  hot  speak.  Her  hand  lay  on 
the  eoibrasnre  befdde  Mm,  He  readiecl  out  his 
arm  and  quietly  covered  the  white  fingers  iritili 
his  own.  His  mournful  glance  met  hers,  and 
for  the  first  time  the  full  significance  of  her 
nearness  came  home  to  him.  She  drew  back  a 
little,  frightened,  and  slowly  raised  her  head. 
The  touch  of  her  hand  on  his  had  tamed  his 
vttry  blood  to  fire. 

"I  love  you,"  he  said,  without  moving.  She 
swayed  a  little  beside  the  embrasure;  but  she 
did  not  speak.  He  reached  out  his  unbandaged 


364 


THE  LAST  WOBD 


Ann,  as  iIm  etill  stood  gazing  at  him,  and  made 
a  movement,  a  hmigry  and  pleading  movement, 
as  though  to  draw  her  closer  to  him.  "I  love 
yon,"  he  repeated,  inadequately. 

A  soft  and  Inminoof  beauty  crept  into  iMr 
Um  with  its  tragio  little  hollow  under  elUier 
died[-lxme;  it  aeemed  to  suffuse  and  renew  and 
transform  it  as  spring  itself  transforms  the 
world.  She  raised  her  hands  slowly,  almost 
mournfully,  as  though  it  cost  her  a  great  effort, 
until  they  rested  on  his  shoulders. 

"I  am  not  worthy  of  it,''  abe  aaid,  wttii  a 
break  in  her  voioe  that  was  ahnoet  a  sob.  8l» 
would  have  said  nK>re,  but  ber  speech  was 
rilenced  by  his  movement,  a  movement  which 
brought  her  trembling  into  his  rrms. 

"I  have  always  loved  yon,"  she  whispered, 
ifirealdy* 

<«And  yon  would  go  back  wi^  met*'  be 
pleaded. 

"Anywhere^"  she  answered,  as  she  raised  her 
wistfully  81^^  Hps  to  bia.  *<Totiieendof  the 
worldl" 

Some  wordless  languor  of  surrwider  left  the 
suddenly  saddened  lips  still  parted,  and  caused 
her  heavy  eyelids  to  droop  over  unquestiiHiing 
and  capitulating  eyes.  It  was  an  elonaital  and 
ebsolute  rtiiiiqiiiriimaa.t,  as  quiet  and  yet  as 
complete  as  the  surrender  io  Death  itself 


THE  LAST  WOBD  866 


touched  with  sorrow  only  as  all  things  that 
fringe  on  the  Infinite  are  so  touched.  It  was 
lore,  the  deep  love  that  livus  only  in  deep  sonls. 

Thejr  were  alon«  under  the  hi^-arching 
tropieal  tmi.  Th«  eondor  wlieeled  teek  over 
Paraiso  Hill  uiBotioed;  barefooted  soldien  in 
ragged  denim  marched  by  under  the  Palace  un- 
seen; Ulloa's  mounted  band  brayed  itaelf  into 
the  distance  unheard. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


TUB  UUtt  UDf 

It  was  Aikens,  the  wireless-operator,  who 
brought  McKinnon  and  Alicia  back  to  the  world 
of  reality. 

«IVe  got  *em!''  he  called  excitedly,  from  Ut 
little  station  door  shadowed  by  its  awning  of 
faded  striped  eaam.  '*INr«  piM  tooMfiiing 

up  I'* 

He  disappeared  from  sight,  and  McKinnon 
conld  hear  the  crackle  and  spit  of  his  **Bpark" 
across  the  "spark-gap." 

Then  the  youth  reappeared  under  the  faded 
striped  awning.  He  hdd  a  mndi-woni  Panama 
hat  in  his  hand,  and  hb  amtroadied  the  oldtt 
man  with  some  hesitation. 

"Coulu  you  help  me  out  for  a  few  minutest" 
he  asked,  with  a  hand-wave  towards  his 
'•station.'* 

♦♦What's  wrong!" 

««I*ye  got  to  get  somebody  from  tba  War 


THE  LAST  DEBT  867 


Office.  I  ought  to  have  the  Pmident  here^ 
now." 

**Wluit  is  itt*'  MkMl  Alki%  M  Hmsj  otommI 
to  the  <*etttioii"  door. 

"It's  Boraoao  calling  the  Princeton.  It*s 
going  to  be  the  lul  roQk»t4t^     thia  fiMworki 

exhibition." 
He  flung  on  a  coat  and  i'     d  to  MoKinnon. 
"But  please  watch  that  responder  until  I  get 

And  h«  WM  off  bof ort  ICeldiiioii  oonUI  ad  • 
jut  the  fhoTM  and  take  his  Mat  before  the  in- 

stmment. 

But  as  the  newcomer  pressed  the  receiver 
against  his  ear,  he  conld  hear  a  sound,  faint 
and  small,  like  the  tick  of  a  wood-beetle.  This 
sound  translated  itself  into  a  coherent  sequence 
of  dots  an^  ^adioB,  vptS&ag  out  the  eaU  for 
'^Cruiper  Pt  .  ceton"  and  repeating  it,  impa> 
tiently  with  a  strangely  human  note  of  com- 
plaint 'n  the  petulanoe  of  the  wood-beetle  tidi- 
ngs. 

"Princeton — Princeton/'  the  call  was  re- 
peated, almost  frantically,  it  seemed  to  McKin- 
noD,  as  be  eanght  up  the  operator's  paidl  and 
bagan  to  write  on  the  pap«r  btf  ore  him.  Then 
came  the  break  and  the  answer  of  the  far-off 
cruiser.  Sdmething  in  the  crisply  stiff  "send" 
of  the  n&yj  operator  reminded  the  listener  of 


m  7H£  LAST  BJBBT 


file  tigbtlj  jacketed  middi^aii  in  the  FUm 
below  him.  Then  came  the  hnrrying  dots  and 
duhit  of  the  Boraeao  (iterator: 

Detachment  of  Moraian's  Scouts  captured  American 
m^ivffl  Qanley  thia  morning  at  daybreak.  Ganley  held  here 
In  cKorfel— oond«nned  to  death  by  futdado  after  drumhead 
court-martial  by  Moraian.  He  claims  to  be  American  citl- 
sen  and  wants  protection  of  his  government.  I  cannot  g<t 
GuariQui— etation  there  dead  for  seren  days  past  Hurry 
in  relief  on  receipt  of  this  or  will  be  too  late.  If  possible 
land  marines  at  San  Antonio  Inlet  and  push  overland  to 
Boraeao  by  way  of  Aglra  Bhrer  Twil.  I  haro  dona  every- 
thing in  my  power,  bat  aat  haifless.  You  must  hurry— to  to 
bo  shot  at  sunset  AooiLpa  Klausib. 

Amn^aa  Oonml.  Boneaok 

McKiimon  handed  the  written  sheet  to  Alida 
without  speaking. 

She  read  it  and  handed  it  back  io  him.  Her 
hand  was  diaking  a  little. 

'*What  can  we  dot"  she  aaked,  afanost  in  ft 
[whisper. 

"There's  nothing  we  can  do,"  was  McKin- 
non's  answer.  "Our  coils  are  still  ont  qi  order. 
They're  still  too  weak  to  sendt" 

"Bat  we  cant  stand  hem  and  aea  ^  man 
die— iioW'-4n  that  way!*' 

MoKinnon  suddenly  hdd  op  a  hand  for 

silenee,  for  the  PrineeUm  was  sending  again: 

Onaot  land  men  btfore  communicating  with  Quariqul. 
AA  Mwpension  of  ezeevtten  of  American  named  Oanley  for 
4ay  w  two  nntn  Qwuri^id  ooiil*rwMO> 


Ittl  LASt  DEM  M 


Then  came  a  break  and  another  wait,  while 
ttma  mmtmbm  far  off  in  the  streets  below 
floated  up  the  bray  and  throb  of  the  ndlitarj 
band.  Then  a  second  Boracao  message  trickled 
down  through  the  Quariqui  wires  and  stirred 
the  coherer  into  feeble  life: 

Can  do  nothing.  Morasan  claima  acting  for  Ctanwal 
UHw  udM*  PrMtdMt  Dunu^  ordm.  Bat  wketo  thing 
terrible  mistake.  We  must  have  help  at  once,  or  Innocent 
and  law-abiding  cltlsens  wm  be  murdered.  Send  mm  and 
taUompb  adTance  from  San  AaUmlo  HIU. 

Aiken's  hurried  return  with  two  orderlies  and 
an  officer  in  full  uniform  kept  McKinnon  from 
intercepting  the  Princeton's  reply.  The  little 
station  had  suddenly  become  close  and  stifling. 
He  felt  weak  and  unstrung,  and  was  glad  to 
gain  the  open  air  and  find  the  quiet  sunlight  and 
the  slowly  wa^g  pahns  about  bim  once  more. 
He  was  glad  to  know  tliat  ti»  womaii  he  loved 
stood  at  his  side,  and  that  their  future  Hfe  was 
to  be  a  life  far  from  such  scenes. 

They  were  still  there,  side  by  side  above  the 
embrasure,  when  the  hurrying  Aikens,  as  he 
darted  below-stairs,  thrust  a  sheet  of  carbon- 
copy into  tii^  hands  as  he  passed.  MeKlmwm 
hdd  it  up  $M  read  it  alond: 

American  named  Oanley  Just  shot  down  by  guartel  gnards 
as  he  broke  Jail  here— body  sorrenderad  to  ma  Iqr  alcalda^ 
tB  holding  it  mmoaag  taatraolioMi 


370  THE  LAST  DBBT 


The  sheet  fluttered  to  the  groond. 

"It's  over,"  said  the  woman,  covering  her 
face  with  her  hands,  while  a  movement  tilial  was 
almost  a  shiver  eirapt  throned  lier  stoopmg 
body. 

"Yes,  it's  over  now,"  echoed  McKinnon,  ab- 
sently, as  his  arm  went  ont  to  snstain  her.  And 
they  sat  there,  alone  with  their  thoughts,  for 
many  minutes. 


THE  END 


SCARBOROUGH  TOWIOMi 


